A Sting in The Tail
by AACripwell
Summary: Twelve months after Ed's surprise proposal Winry is looking forward to seeing him, but their reunion is not what she had first imagined. And when she gets a job at the same military base that he has been stationed at she finds him to be cold and distant. Just why is Edward so cold towards her and what secrets is Fortress 53 holding?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - Fullmetal Alchemist is property of** **Hiromu Arakawa and** **Square Enix. This story is not written for profit.**

 **Pairings- EdWin, some Winry/OC in later chapters.**

 **Rating - MA (NC-17)**

 **Summary - Twelve months after Ed's surprise proposal Winry is looking forward to seeing him, but their reunion is not what she had first imagined. And when she gets a job at the same military base that he has been stationed at she finds him to be cold and distant. Just why is Edward so cold towards her and what secrets is Fortress 53 holding? Winry is destined to find out but it's very likely that it will all end in tears.**

 **Warnings - Major angst. Set post Brotherhood, but Ed still has his automail. Language, graphic violence and scenes of a sexual nature throughout.**

 **CHAPTER 1**

She entered the mess hall of fortress 53 and glanced around. Soldiers sat chatting at metallic benches, trays of food in front of them. There was a warm and friendly atmosphere in here, despite the tense stand off taking place outside. Fortress 53 was the last standpoint between the forces of the Drachma rebels and the pass to Amestris. The battle had been waging for nearly three months and it had produced huge causalities on both sides.

She saw him before he saw her and she stifled a gasp. His signature braid, once blonde was a now the darkest shade of black. He had grown, much to his delight, she was sure, and the leanly muscled figure before her was that of a man, no longer a boy.

It had been over a year since she had last seen him; she'd heard no word from him in that time, not a letter or a phone call. If she hadn't been keeping tabs on his whereabouts through her contacts in Central then she might have been worried. She was pissed, sure. Even Al had taken the time to write from whatever quest he was on halfway across the world in Xing. But Ed? Considering the proposal he had offered last time she had seen him, she was hurt that he hadn't even made the effort to get in touch.

She watched him, chatting calmly to the soldier next to him. He was wearing a black tank top, stretched thin over his steely muscles. He had always been leanly muscled, even as a kid, but his body showed signs of someone who took the time to work out. His face had aged as well. Ed had always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders but it was now etched into his face. Eyes that once sparkled with mischief were cold and hard and Winry frowned wondering just what horrors he had faced over the last twelve months.

Picking up her suitcase from where she had put it down next to her in the mess hall Winry made to walk towards his table. She saw his eyes flick from the man next to him and slide to her. She quirked a smile at him, but it faltered when she saw a thousand emotions flit across his face. Confusion, happiness, joy worry, sadness and then anger. His eyes flashed and it wasn't the anger she was used to seeing on his face when they argued about him breaking his automail, it was a cold burning rage that flashed through his eyes and Winry stepped back at the force of it.

He pushed away from the table roughly and stormed towards her, seemingly oblivious to the stares he was generating from the other soldiers. Winry was unsure what kind of reception she had been expecting but she certainly had not been expecting him to get right into her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He snarled at her and Winry couldn't help the hurt that flashed across her face.

"I-I wanted to see you-" she started and Ed huffed in frustration leaning back and running a hand through his dark bangs.

"You should have called?!" He yelled at her, gritting his teeth together.

Hurt was replaced by anger and Winry dropped the suitcase, putting her hands on her hips.

"Don't you dare give me that Edward!" She snarled back at him. He didn't flinch. "I've called countless times, I 've written you every week for a year and where has it gotten me?!" She threw her hands up in despair.

He ignored her comment, instead grabbing her suitcase and he gripped her wrist in his metallic hand. She felt the steel fingers cut into the flesh of her wrist as he began to drag her out of the mess hall.

"Ouch, Ed, what are you doing?" She whined at him, trying to pull her wrist out of his grip but he just held onto her tighter.

"You're leaving!" He ground out, not looking at her as the exited the hall into the corridor beyond.

"No Ed, I'm not!" She dug her heels into the ground, forcing him to stop and face her.

"Yes you-" He started.

"No!" She yelled at him. A few passing soldiers, stared at them and she resisted the urge to yell at them too. "Ed, even if you want me to leave, which you obviously do," she couldn't help the hurt that crept into her voice but she stoically stared at a point past his right ear. "I can't leave because I have a job here." Without even looking at him she saw that he paled and he took a step back from her.

"What did you say?" He murmured, and she looked at him. His face was pale and drawn, his eyes wide.

"I- I was offered a position in the hospital wing," she rubbed the back of her neck. "I've been working as a doctor in Central for the last three months and when I passed my exams I was offered a position here."

He stared at her silently, a muscle working in his jaw.

"You'd know that if you ever picked up the phone," She sighed. "Ed, what is going on?" She stepped towards him, reaching out.

The spell, holding him still was broken and his eyes clouded with anger.

"You'll be out of here on the first train tomorrow if I have anything to do with it," he growled at her, stepping backwards and dropping her suitcase. "Just stay the hell away from me Winry, you got that?!" He turned on his heel and disappeared around a corner.

Winry bit her lip, hard. She refused to let the tears that were threatening to spill over, escape, instead reaching down and picking up her small suitcase.

"Are you ok, Miss?" A voice at her elbow asked and she looked up through swimming eyes to see a young man looking at her concernedly.

He had a kind face and was wearing a long white doctor's coat. His hair was a mousey brown colour and fell into his eyes slightly.

"Y-yes," she stammered. "I'm fine, thank you."

"May I escort you somewhere?" The man asked with a genuine smile. "You'll excuse me for saying so, but you look a little lost."

Winry blinked and smiled at the man, rubbing the back of her neck in consternation.

"It's that obvious, huh?" she mumbled with a pathetic attempt to grin.

The man laughed a deep and rumbling chuckle and she couldn't help but let her small smile grow. He held out a hand to her.

"Doctor Lukas Jackson," he smiled at her warmly.

She took his warm hand in her own and shook it gently.

"Doctor Winry Rockbell," she said and his eyes grew round.

"Oh! Doctor Rockbell! I have been expecting you!" She smiled, she had suspected as much.

"Please, call me Winry," she said.

"Ok, Winry it is," he gave a small bow and gestured her to follow him down the corridor.

"So, how was your trip?" he asked her, taking the suitcase from her as they set off in tandem.

"Oh, it was fine," she said absentmindedly, glancing around as they made their way through a series of never-ending corridors towards the hospital wing. She was confused about Ed's reaction to her being here. In the last twelve months he had not bothered to call or write, which in itself wasn't suspicious. Ed had never been very good at staying in touch. But he had never, ever spoken to her in the way that he just had. Usually he was happy to see her, if not for anything else, but at least as his mechanic. So why now, was he so upset by her presence? Perhaps in the last year, he had come to realize that actually he didn't need her, he didn't love her. Winry felt pain in the pit of her stomach at the thought. Perhaps he had met someone else…

The thought left Winry feeling sick and dizzy and she barely heard Doctor Jackson as he showed her into the hospital wing, pointing out where they kept the equipment and talking through the various procedures that they used. She just nodded and tried to look interested.

"And these will be your quarters," he said, interrupting her train of thought.

"Here in the hospital wing?" She asked confused.

"It was considered the best place for you to be, should there be an emergency," Doctor Jackson said kindly. "My quarters are at the other end of the wing should you need me." He picked up a large box of medical folders and handed it to her. It was heavy and Winry stumbled under its weight "These are your open case files, take some time to familiarize yourself with your patients. I'll need you on good form tomorrow."

"Thank you, Doctor Jackson," she smiled at him, wanly.

"Please, Winry, call me Lukas," he smiled and turned away. "Your shift starts at 0400, try to get some rest."

She turned away from his retreating form and entered her dorm. It was a small military cabin, with a cot in the corner. There were boxes adorning the wall, full of what appeared to be medical supplies and Winry repressed a sigh. She placed the large box and her suitcase on her bed and sank down onto the thin mattress and leaned her head back against the wall.

This job that she had been so excited for, her first real job as a doctor, was suddenly not as appealing, given her less than welcome reception from Ed. She dropped her head onto her knees and sighed. Oh Ed…

She busied herself with putting away her clothes in the small dresser next to the bed. She hung her white doctor's coat on the back of the door, along with her stethoscope and returned to her suitcase. She was about to put it under the bed when she noticed one final item that she had forgotten to unpack. It was a small photo frame. A picture from long ago, of her, Ed and Al. Taken by Granny, she thought. She smiled at the memory of that happy day. They'd had a picnic down by the river and Ed and Al had fought over who would get to marry Winry when they grew up. She grimaced at the memory and shoved the frame back in the suitcase, kicking it under her bed with a huff.

Suddenly she made up her mind, there was something going on here and she was determined to find out what it was. Shrugging her coat off she stormed out of her cabin and stalked through the nearly empty ward, she exited the hospital wing into a deserted corridor and paused. How in the hell was she going to find him in this fortress?

She made off down a corridor, looking for an information point where she might be able to ask someone for help and came across a young woman.

"Hey, you," she snapped at the woman. "Where can I find Elric?"

The woman frowned. " _Major_ Elric?" Winry mentally catalogued this information. So he'd been promoted then and apparently, given the woman's response had earned a small amount of respect in the process. "His quarters will be up on third with the other officers," the woman frowned at Winry and continued on her way. "Although I wouldn't disturb him at this hour," the woman called over her shoulder. "He's got a nasty temper."

"You have no idea," Winry muttered to herself, stalking off towards the elevator. She rode it up to the third floor, the anger in her veins driving her forwards.

She found the officers quarters in no time and slipped inside the corridor, checking the nameplates on the doors. She found Ed's door and raised her fist to bang on the door, before thinking better of it. She instead dug a screwdriver from inside her back pocket and fiddled with the door's access panel for a moment before the door hissed open. She stepped inside and shut the door, ready to take Ed's head off for being such an ass.

Ed looked up at her from his position on the floor; sweat covered his naked torso and Winry felt the anger die on her tongue as she looked at him. He stood up from where he had been working out and glared at her.

"You make a habit of breaking into officer's rooms?" he ground out, breathing heavily.

Winry felt her anger come back with a vengeance.

"Ed, what the hell is going on?" she yelled at him, her hands clenched at her sides.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you talking about?" He murmured.

"You're being such a- such a…" She trailed off, lost for words. "Aren't you even a little happy to see me?" She finished lamely and something crossed his face, too quickly for her to identify it. Whatever it was is replaced by anger just as quickly.

"No, surprisingly," he seethed. "I'm NOT happy to see you!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Winry yelled at him, tears burning in her eyes. "The Ed I know would never behave like this-"

"Well maybe that's because you don't know me anymore!" He roared at her and stepped towards her, she couldn't help the involuntary step she took back. They were so close she could smell the sweat on his body.

"What do you mean?" She gasped. "Ed, I've known you my whole life! You're keeping something from me and I'm going to find out what it is, whether you like it or not-"

She made to turn from him and run from the room, but he caught her wrist in his vice like grip and forced her backwards until her back hit the wall with a thud.

"Ed-" she made to protest, but his mouth was suddenly on hers.

There was nothing delicate in the kiss, it was angry and aggressive and he forced her mouth open, claiming it with his tongue, his teeth clashing with hers. She moaned loudly into his mouth as she sagged against the wall, but he held her pinned by her wrists, his body holding her up as his chest pressed against hers. She gasped as his mouth left hers, trailing and biting along her jaw, nipping her earlobe and travelling down her neck. She felt wetness pool between her legs and she arched her back against him, needing more contact. His mouth moved to the curve of her neck and she felt him sucking and biting the skin there. She gasped loudly, her head tipping back and hitting the wall with a thud.

"Ed…"

And just as suddenly as it had begun it was over. He was off her in a flash. She opened her eyes from where she was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily and looked at him. His eyes were wild, his lips swollen and the sweat from his workout still glistened on his chiseled abdomen.

"T-that…" he panted. "That was a mistake," he turned away from her, squaring his shoulders.

"What?" She said faintly, wounded by his words.

"It will not happen again." He said calmly.

"But, Ed-"

"I'd appreciate it if you leave," he said curtly, his back still to her and Winry felt the tears begin to fall.

She turned on her heel and left the room as quickly as she could, her tears burning the back of her throat as she made her way silently back to her dorm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Been having a lot of difficulty posting this chapter, so apologies. Hopefully the formatting errors have now been rectified.**

 **CHAPTER 2**

Winry soon fell into a pattern. Eat, sleep, work, repeat. She lost herself in her job, and blocked all thought of Ed from her mind, filling the empty spaces in her day with her job. She worked double shifts for the first two weeks so that when she was finished she fell straight into an exhausted sleep. But every night she dreamed of golden eyes and lips on her collar.

She looked haggard, she knew, and Lukas had become quite concerned about her, often asking if she would like him to cover her shifts so that she could get some time off, but she always declined. It gave her piece of mind to work; to not think, to not feel.

She didn't see Ed at all for those first two weeks, mostly as she didn't leave the hospital wing, instead, having her meals delivered straight to the ward; not that she ate much. She couldn't really bring herself to have much of an appetite, but it was more a force of habit.

The patients that she saw had varying injures, ranging from bullet wounds and amputations from the raging battle outside, to simple friction burns and machinery injuries from the armory downstairs. She had little concept of the battle, only that another army was trying to destroy the fortress and the soldiers here were trying their best to hold it. Other than that she didn't make it her business to understand the ins and outs of it.

On the third week since her arrival there was a particularly heavy shelling of the fortress and she was inundated with burns, shrapnel and mortar wounds. She had taken to wearing scrubs, her clothes bloodied and ruined by the constant stream of trauma patients. Her feet slipped in the blood on the floor while her finger plugged a young Lieutenant's femoral artery and she swore, loudly. She yelled for Layla, the healthcare assistant, to pass her the clamp she needed to stop the bleeding and took it from the younger woman's shaking hands, without looking at her. Below her the woman had passed out and Winry worked quickly to stop the bleeding, worried that she may have to amputate.

The task overtook her senses and she was barely aware of what was going on around her. Lukas had been called in to cover the ward as well due to the sheer volume of patients that they were seeing and Winry had begun to get used to his methods of working; his easy way with the patients and his calm capability throughout the chaos. He came up beside her after a little while she was preparing the woman's artery for surgical reattachment.

"Here," he said, calmly. "Let me." He took the equipment from her and she frowned at him./span/p

"Wha-"

"You have a patient," he nodded his head over her shoulder, his eyes a little strange and she turned to find that Ed had entered the ward and was being checked in by Layla. She looked at him, worriedly, feeling her stomach tighten. He was standing upright and there didn't appear to be anything seriously wrong with him and Winry feel her stomach unclench a little. She didn't want to have to deal with this today. She moved away from where Lukas was preparing the surgical treatment in bay 3 and turned to the patient in bay 5, checking his chart methodically. After a while she could feel eyes on the back of her neck and she resisted the urge to look at where she knew Ed was sitting on a gurney in the hall.

"Damn," she muttered, checking the man's pupil response. "He's blown a pupil," she called to Layla. The girl was timid as a mouse and Winry had had to take her under her wing, to ensure that she got what she needed.

"Is the head wound worse that we thought?" Layla asked coming around to check the man's bandages.

"I guess so," Winry sighed. "He probably won't last the night." She picked up his chart and made some notes. "Monitor him every 30 minutes, please Layla," she turned to move on. "If anything changes, let me know."

"Where are you going?" Layla called.

"I- I just need to wash up for a minute," Winry called making her way to the bathroom.

She washed her hands in the warm soapy water and watched the blood swirl away down the drain with a blank expression.

3 dead already; probably 4 by the end of the night.

She sighed and glanced up at her reflection in the mirror. She barely recognized the haggard figure in front of her. Her eyes were hollowed and dead looking, deep circles creased beneath her eyes, hinting at sleep deprivation. Her skin was pale and waxy and her lips cracked and dry.

She turned away from the woman she had become, disgusted, and left the bathroom quietly. Lukas was just finishing up with the Lietenant in 3. The young woman's life was no longer in danger and the blood flow had been successfully restored, Lukas now calmly stitching the wound closed. The woman would need to stay off her feet for a coupled of moths, but if they were lucky, and the wound was kept clean, she would make a full recovery.

Turning back to the hallway, Winry decided she could no longer ignore Edward.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked him, not looking at him, instead picking up a chart from the counter and beginning the necessary paper work for a new patient. He was quiet for a moment and she clenched her jaw, she was not going to meet his eyes.

"It's my automail," he gritted out after a moment, rubbing his leg and she was surprised. "It's gotten a little uncomfortable on the port and I think it needs some attention."

Knowing Ed as she did…well as she had done, she scowled, it had to be more than "a little uncomfortable" for him to come in to the surgery and she repressed the anger that he had not been well-maintaining the automail that she had slaved tirelessly over.

"They have people for that downstairs," she shut the clipboard with a crack ready to move on.

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing," she snapped. "I don't have time to waste on automail. I have people dying here."

And with that she turned on her heel and walked away. She felt anger coil in her gut at his nerve to come here asking a favor. She wasn't a mechanic any more. And even if she was, there's no way she was going to help him out after what had happened.

She busied herself with her remaining patients, noticing that as the worst of it seemed to be over, Lukas had disappeared, probably for a coffee or a shower. Her heart lifted when she noticed that the young woman in 3's vitals were improving and she felt a sense of relief creep up on her. At least there would be one thing that went right today.

A few hours later she was stock taking the remaining medicines in the cabinet that they kept on the ward. Supplies were running a little low and it was a good job they were expecting a supply run any day now.

She turned back to the ward, taking in the sight before her for the first time in a few hours. The surviving patients were resting, quietly in their beds as the light outside dimmed. A janitor was mopping the blood from the floor at the end of the ward where Winry had plugged the artery of the young female soldier and a few visitors sat huddled around one of the beds talking to a bandaged patient, quietly. Lukas had disappeared for his break, taking a chance for a much needed shower and meal, undoubtedly. In the bed closest to her she noticed that Edward was still here and was connected to an IV. She clenched her fist angrily. Damned, stubborn fool that he was. She caught Layla as she passed, on her way to do rounds.

"Who connected Major Elric?" she asked, as nonchalantly as she could and Layla stifled a smirk, infuriating Winry even further.

"Oh, he was suffering with some discomfort so I just hooked him to a paracetamol drip until he was feeling well enough to go down to the mech bay," she shrugged and continued on her rounds.

Winry repressed yet another sigh and hopped off her stool, grabbing her stethoscope and wandered over to where Ed lay, sleeping quietly. His skin was sheened with a light sweat and Winry swore under her breath. His "discomfort" must have been more than a little mild if he was running a fever. She suspected that his leg port may have become infected at the join and she reached for a thermometer, gently placing it into his ear.

Amber eyes opened to slits and he grabbed her wrist in a vice like grip, forcing her to drop the thermometer with a cry. His eyes widened and he released her quickly.

"Sorry," he muttered as she rubbed her wrist, red welts already showing from where his fingernails had bitten into her flesh.

"No harm done," she ground out, picking up the thermometer and proceeding to take his temperature. He was running a high fever and she exhaled, grabbing his chart.

"You'll need a course of anti-biotics," she said. She put the clipboard down and looked at his ear. "I'll need to examine your leg…" she trailed off, refusing to let herself blush. She didn't know why she was being such a prude about it. She had seen Ed in varying states of undress since they were kids and it had never been an issue for either of them, but… that was then and things had so obviously changed.

"Right…" he muttered and she could have sworn that she saw a hint of a blush rise on his own cheeks as he stood and unzipped his pants. She studied her clipboard in feigned interest, as he removed his clothing, noting only how he favored his good leg, heavily. How long had it been bothering him, she wondered.

He lay down on the bed and she dragged a stool over from a nearby bay, sitting down to inspect his leg. The infection was not as bad as she had expected and seemed to have been caused by poor maintenance and cleaning around the port. She told him so, whilst studying the metalwork carefully. The wires and cables seemed to be in fairly good condition, although there appeared to be some wear and tear on the plating.

"Stay here," she muttered as she stood up and made for her room, quickly. She found the tools she was looking for in the small tool bag she kept under her bed and returned to the ward quickly. She snagged a bottle of antibiotic as she passed the medicine cabinet and stuck it in her pocket.

Ed smirked when he saw what she was carrying. "You're not going to hit me with that are you?" He asked with a grin. His smile faltered when she looked at him coldly. She set the tools down on the table next to his bed and produced the vial of anti-biotic, taking a syringe from the med station by the bed. She filled the syringe with practiced ease and attached it to the IV, inserting the liquid into his fluids, alongside his pain meds.

"Bend your knee," she said coolly and he did so. She set to work, clearing the grit and debris that had lodged inside the plating around the joint. It was time consuming work, but she settled into a rhythm, soon forgetting everything but the metal in front of her.

"Why did you become a doctor?" Ed asked after a while, startling her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, glancing up at his face, from under her bangs.

"You just, you always loved automail so much, I-" he faltered and scratched the back of his neck. "I just always figured that you'd set up your own workshop selling the stuff…" he trailed off.

"Well…" she hesitated, her hands stilling for a moment. "When Granny died I just didn't really have it in me to continue the business." Ed hissed his breath through his teeth and she glanced up at him in shock, concerned that she'd hit a nerve. His face was a mask of pain.

"Granny?" he stuttered, his face pale. "When?"

Winry frowned. "Nearly a year ago," she murmured, turning back to her work. She was surprised by his reaction. She had written to him and told him about this as soon as it happened. "I guess you didn't read my letter, huh?" she said softly. Ed was quiet and she continued her work, slowly.

"Winry," he started after a while. "I'm…I'm so-"

She stood up quickly, the tools next to her clattering to the floor.

"You're all done, Major," she said brightly. She grabbed the clipboard and made her notes, quickly in her well-practiced doctor's scrawl. "You need to hang around until you've finished the IV," she called as she turned away from him. "And Layla will set you up with some more anti-biotics. You need to make sure you take the entire course." With that she walked away, her hands shaking.

She refused to let herself dwell on the past. She had never held it against Ed that he hadn't visited after Granny's death. She knew that his work was important, and although it had hurt that he hadn't been there, she knew that he cared. To find out that he didn't even know, it rocked her a little; the fact that he hadn't even bothered to read her letters… She squared her shoulders pushing her limp bangs out of her eyes and returned to work.

A few hours later Winry was finishing her rounds and came across Ed, struggling to remove his IV. She hissed at him in annoyance and pushed his hands out of the way, removing it quickly and easily.

"Thanks," he muttered, pushing himself up from the bed. Winry was secretly pleased to note that he looked steadier on his feet than he had done previously.

"Did Layla give you your anti-biotics?" She asked, completing the discharge papers as he put his pants back on and grabbed his things from the chair beside the bed.

"Yeah," he said breathlessly. "Listen Win-" He froze suddenly, his eyes wide and for a moment, seemingly sad as he glanced over Winry's shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked him, not quite meeting his gaze, but she noticed the subtle shift in his posture, the cruel lilt of his chin.

"Thanks for nothing Doc," he spat at her and she frowned. "You kept me waiting for hours and all I get is some weak as hell pain meds, yeah, great work!" He pushed past her and Winry grit her teeth, turning on her heel to retort.

"Everything ok over here, Doctor Rockbell?" Lukas asked from behind her, slipping into his white coat, a frown on his face. It must have been later than she thought and he was obviously arriving for the start of his shift next.

"Oh it's fine, Doc," Ed drawled in contempt. "Just your new assistant, could improve her bedside manner is all." He stalked out of the ward, leaving Winry speechless and wondering what the hell had just happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Winry slept for nearly 12 hours, waking just in time to have a quick shower and grab a cup of coffee before she was back on duty. She had slept fitfully, dreaming of amber eyes and cruel words.

When she entered the ward to relieve Lukas she frowned at the two body bags in the hallway and made her way to where he was talking quietly with an orderly in the corner.

"Lukas?" She asked, "What happened? Was there another attack?"

He glanced at her apprehensively, a deep frown on his face.

"No, Winry," he said softly. "I'm sorry, but the young woman in 3. And the gentleman in 5…." Winry felt her blood run cold. "There was a complication during the night…" he trailed off and Winry gaped at him in horror.

"But, they were both fine when I left," Winry said softly, turning to look at the body bags. She gazed up at Lukas accusingly. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I'm so sorry, it all happened so quickly," he said, gripping her arm, comfortingly. "You know how these things go."

And she did. She did know how these things went, but damn, that was just yet another punch to the gut. She nodded faintly and turned to get on with her rounds, her mind elsewhere.

Her shift went by in a flash of stitches, and medical checks, dressing changes and inoculations. She felt as though she had barely sat down when Lukas was relieving her twelve hours later and she stared at her hands. Healing hands, someone had once told her. She clenched them into fists.

She went back to her room and showered, her mind lingering on the body bags that she had been greeted with 12 hours earlier. As a doctor you got used to death. But it didn't make it any easier when you had to watch the young die. What was worse was how sure Winry had been that the young Lieutenant would recover. After all, they had mended the artery, there had been no sign of infection, in fact the young soldier's vitals had been on the increase. She just didn't understand it.

Shaking her head slightly she stepped out from under the hot spray, turning the shower off and toweling herself dry. She changed into some clean clothes and sat on the edge of her bed with a sigh, drying her hair slowly.

She didn't feel like being alone tonight and she wasn't even nearly tired. Too wired and wound up by the events of the last 48 hours.

Grabbing her ID she stepped from her room and moved through the quiet ward. She could see Lukas at the end of the ward, his mousey brown head bent over one of the patients and she smiled. He was a good doctor.

She made her way down to the mess hall. What she needed was to be around people, to hear the noiseless chatter of living breathing people to flush the cobwebs from her mind.

She entered the mess hall. It was relatively quiet and she made her way to the bar at the back. Sitting on a bar stool she caught the barman's attention.

"Hey, Doc," the man said kindly, putting the glass he was polishing to one side. "It's good to see you down here."

She smiled at him kindly. "What can I get for you?" he asked. "Whatever you want, it's on the house."

She frowned. "Oh, no, thank you, but I couldn't possibly-"

"Doc, you saved two of my buddies this week…" the barman said seriously. "What do you want?"

Winry flushed. "Uhhh, a glass of wine," she murmured. "Better make it a big one…" she chuckled, humorlessly.

The guy grinned at her. "You want red or white?" he asked fetching a large wine glass.

"White," she said, playing with the bar mat in front of her.

She took the glass as he handed it to her with an appreciative smile but was glad when he moved off to serve another customer. She sipped her wine slowly. Damn it was good, cold and crisp.

"Hey Doc," a voice said at her elbow and Winry turned to see a young woman smiling at her. She couldn't get used to everyone recognizing her and she gave a strained smile in return.

"Hello," Winry replied, politely.

"I'm Faye," the woman said, shaking Winry's hand. "First Lieutenant Faye Samson." Winry nodded.

"Doctor Winry Rockbell," she replied as the woman slid into the seat next to her and order a beer.

"So," she said and Winry glanced at her. "How're you settling in?"

"Oh, you know," Winry said breezily. "It takes a while to get used to the way things work here." Samson nodded, sipping her beer casually.

"And the way the people work too?"

Winry frowned. "Yeah, I guess so…"

"You've had a lot of patients recently," Samson said casually.

Winry frowned, wondering where the Frist Lieutenant was going with this.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Not yesterday my commanding officer was in the ward for treatment," the woman eyed Winry strangely.

"Oh really?" Winry asked, feeling her stomach drop. "And just who is your commanding officer?"

"Major Elric," Samson replied, a little too casually. Winry gripped her wine glass so hard she thought it might break.

"Ah, yes," she grit out, unsure how to reply.

"You know," Samson said, "He sure has been acting strangely for the last couple of weeks."

"How so?" Winry faced the taller woman. She had a kind face, but her eyes held some kind of concern. Her dark hair was swept back in a neat bun.

"Well, he's been moody and irritable," she said and Winry snorted. "Well, more so than usual," the other woman smiled.

"Hmmm," Winry sipped her wine.

They sat in companionable silence for a while.

"Listen," Samson said, turning to face the young doctor. "I get that you and Ed, have some sort of," she waved her hand, her face contorted as she searched for the right word, "history!" She snapped her fingers and Winry grimaced.

"You could say that," she said evasively.

"Well, it's just that, maybe you could…" and at this point Samson had the decency to blush, "leave him alone for a while."

Winry felt her spine prickle.

"First Lieutenant Samson," she said coolly. "Edward and I may have a common history, and believe me, that is none of your concern." She delighted in seeing the flush that rose up Samson's cheeks. "But if you feel the need to press the issue, I can assure you that at the present moment I have no desire to have any contact with Major Elric whatsoever, so you have no need to feel…" she hesitated, glaring at the woman, "threatened."

Samson stared at her dumbfounded for a moment, before bursting out into laughter and Winry felt herself growl in annoyance. "What the hell is so funny?!" She sputtered.

The woman wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye and patted Winry's hand in a friendly manner.

"You've got it all wrong Doc," she chuckled and Winry frowned. "I have no romantic interest in the Major." Winry schooled her expression into polite indifference, but she felt her stomach unclench, slightly as Samson continued. "It's just that he's making it hellish to work for him, you know?"

Winry smiled, she did know.

"I'm sorry," she said to the young solider. "I guess Ed was not as happy to see me as I thought he might be," she confessed, shredding the helpless bar mat in front of her into smithereens.

Samson looked at her, with a tinge of sadness and appeared that she was going to say something, but thought better of it.

"I'll make you a deal, Samson," Winry said, taking a large gulp of her Wine. "I'll stay away from the Major, if you try and keep him away from me."

Samson was quiet for a moment. "Agreed," she said quietly and Winry was surprised by the sad tone in the other woman's voice.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Been having a bit of difficulty uploading from my mac, hopefully now sorted. Chapters 4-6 were some of my favourite to write for the entire story (currently writing the Epilogue) so I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts on how this one, and the next two came out. Constructive criticism is welcomed.**

 **Be warned, I LOVE angst and if you thought Chapters 1-3 were angsty you may want to hang on to your hats as we get into this.**

 **CHAPTER 4**

In the end Samson didn't have much say in the matter as Winry was summoned into a meeting not three days later with the fortress commander, General Wilson. She smoothed her hands down her skirt, nervously, as an aide led her down the corridor towards the General's office. Winry had no idea why she had been summoned in this way. It was very unusual for a doctor such as herself to have any contact with such a high-ranking official and she wondered if there had been some kind of problem with her work.

The aide opened the door and she stepped into the large office and immediately froze, taking in the scene before her. There were a number of people sat around a large mahogany table and Winry fiddled with her hair, nervously. A large fireplace stood off to one side of the room and a fire crackled in the hearth, ominously. She recognized the General from his place at the head of the table. A large man, he cast an imposing shadow, but his face was kindly, despite the large scar that ran the length of his square jaw. On either side of the General sat two officers that Winry didn't recognize, a man and a woman. Both looked at her suspiciously as she entered. Beside the male officer sat First Lieutenant Samson who cast Winry a small smile as she entered the room. And opposite Samson sat… Edward. He glared at her, unashamedly as she entered the room and leapt to his feet.

"No way!" He growled, standing up abruptly as Winry took a tentative step into the room. "General, you have got to be-"

The General silenced him with a raised hand and Edward sank back into his chair, seething.

"Doctor Rockbell," General Wilson, stood and made his way towards her, shaking her hand as he reached her and smiled at her kindly.

"General Wilson," she replied, timidly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir."

The General escorted her to the nearest end of the table, pulling out the chair and offering it to her. She sat, nervously, unsure exactly what was going on as the General returned to his seat. Winry was aware of all eyes on her and she swallowed convulsively, waiting for someone to explain to her what she was doing here.

"Doctor Rockbell," the General began, leaning his chin onto his steepled fingers. "You have made quite an impression since you have joined our ranks here," he murmured with a smile.

Winry smiled at him in return.

"Thank you, Sir," she replied, contritely. "I've been working hard."

"No doubt," the General replied.

The was a short silence and Winry risked a glance at Ed. He was stoically avoiding her gaze, glaring at a spot on the wall in front of him, his jaw clenching angrily.

Not for the first time Winry wondered what the hell she had done to make him hate her this much.

"Doctor Rockbell," the General began.

"Please, Sir," she said, her eyes flicking back to where he watched her curiously. "Call me Winry. I mean, I'm not enlisted, so I have no rank…" she trailed off feeling foolish.

"Winry," the General conceded with a small smile. "I have an important mission for you." She glanced at First Lieutenant Samson who was frowning at the table. "A group of Amestrian soldiers have been kidnapped a few miles from here and are being held hostage by Drachman rebels." the General said seriously and Winry frowned, wanting to ask how the soldiers had been captured in the first place, but she let the General continue.

"I need to send a team in to extract the hostages," here the General paused, sitting back in his chair and surveying the ceiling. "The hostages have…valuable information and we can't take the risk that the rebels will retrieve it from them."

Retrieve it from them; Winry shuddered. She didn't want to think about the methods that the rebels would use to retrieve such information.

"How does this involve me, General?" She asked him, a frown on her face. "Do you need me to prepare for their … return?"

"No, Doctor," the General said, kindly. "This mission is of the most vital importance. It will be incredibly dangerous for the team not only to get to the hostages, but it is fundamental that the hostages are brought back here alive, so that they can relay the information that we need."

Winry frowned but the General continued further.

"These men have risked everything to bring us this information. We cannot let them die at the hands of those that they are fighting against."

Winry nodded, beginning to see what he was getting at.

"So…" she said slowly. "You…need me to, go with the extraction team?" She glanced at Samson who was looking at Ed with a sad expression. "You need me to keep the hostages alive."

"That is exactly what I am suggesting," the General said firmly.

"This is ridiculous," Ed spat, slamming his hands on the table.

"Major," the General warned, his tone frosty. Ed quieted, sullenly.

"Doctor Rockbell…Winry," he turned to her. "You would have every protection that we could offer you. The team that you would be travelling with sit before you now and they are made up of some of our finest soldiers." Winry glanced around the table, beginning to realize why Ed was so angry; he was going to have to spend a prolonged period of time with her. Well, she clenched her jaw; she wasn't exactly thrilled about it either.

"General," she turned to him, confused. "If you don't mind me asking, why have you chosen me for this? Why not Doctor Jackson?"

She noticed that the air in the room seemed suddenly cool and she caught Samson and Ed, glancing at each other furtively, some kind of un spoken communication passing between them.

"Well…Winry," the General said, his gaze unfathomable. "Officially you are still under your three year probationary period which forbids me from authorizing you to continue working here alone, without supervision from an experienced Doctor. If I sent Doctor Jackson on this mission it would leave you unsupervised and unable to legally practice."

Winry frowned. Yes, she supposed that this was true. She had completed her medical training in such a short space of time, due to the fast track program that was being run out of Central by the military. After all of the conflicts that had taken place in recent years and the thousands of wounded, it had been considered a necessity, by the government, to recruit more Doctors. The fast track program had allowed her to train quickly and had only been available to those with an advanced knowledge of human anatomy and biology. Given everything that Granny had taught her about automail, Winry had been a prime candidate. It had been a grueling 10 months course, focusing mainly on trauma with elements of emergency surgery. But the end result had been that Winry was now able to practice freely, as long as a senior Doctor supervised her directly, or indirectly.

"However," Wilson said after a moment. "I feel it is important that you know the facts before you get involved in this, as you are quite free to say no at any point," Winry looked at him curiously, but the General glanced to Ed, who glowered.

"Strictly speaking," Ed gritted out after a moment. "This mission is not exactly on the record." Winry frowned but Ed continued as though he were reciting a text book. "The General cannot be seen to send his chief medical officer into enemy territory to extract hostages. It breaks all kinds of codes and conventions." He said all of this, looking at a point on the wall, his fists clenched against the shiny surface of the table.

"But," Winry finally understood. "You can send me?" She looked at General Wilson, who nodded, concedingly.

 _Expendable._ The word popped into Winry's mind, malevolently and her stomach churned.

On one hand her brain was telling her to run for the hills; yet on the other she couldn't get the images of the hostages out of her mind. If she refused, what would they do then? The team would no doubt go in alone. Someone might get hurt; maybe they wouldn't all make it back alive…. Her eyes strayed to the man on her left. No. She couldn't take that risk.

She tilted her chin up, piercing Wilson with her most confident gaze.

"So when do we leave?" she said calmly.

The General let out a surprised laugh and she noticed Ed drop his head, his face obscured by his bangs. Samson looked on through concerned eyes.

And so, less than 24 hours later Winry was donned in three pairs of thermals and a thick, camouflaged winter jacket and combats. Samson had stopped by with a duffel bag full of supplies including thermal underwear, gloves, hat and a scarf, all military issue. Winry had laughed, telling the other woman that with so much padding, surely she was guaranteed to be seen coming, a mile off. Samson had just laughed and helped her pack up the essential medical supplies that she would need for the mission, stowing it all in the carry pack that Winry would wear at all times.

As she stepped out into quad by the large bolted gates of the fortress entrance, Winry felt her heart thud in her chest. She had never been scared to do what was needed, but she was a little anxious about the task ahead of her. She had no military training or experience and she was concerned that she would struggle to keep up with the team of experienced soldiers she would be working with.

"Hey, Doc!" Samson called her from across the quad where she stood with a group of soldiers, all wearing the same camouflaged winter gear as Winry and ski masks, pulled up on their foreheads. They smiled as Winry approached them. "Winry," Samson said as she drew close, "This is 2nd Lieutenant Bulger," she pointed to a tall man with a pointed nose who nodded at Winry. She recognized him as the officer from the General's office and she smiled back at him, politely. "2nd Lieutenant Cristal," she gestured to a short, stocky woman, beside Bulger. Again she had been present during Winry's induction to the mission and she grinned at the doctor, winking at her. "And this is Captain Phillips," Samson said, thumping the young man next to her who grinned at her and nudged her back. He was tall with red hair and freckles and a kind face, she was surprised to notice how young he looked; maybe just sixteen.

"Pleased to meet you all," Winry said, smiling.

"So ,where's the Major?" Bulger asked Samson, slinging his large pack up onto his shoulder and Winry felt her stomach drop. She had almost forgotten about Edward.

Samson glanced at Winry quickly, "He's-"

"I'm here," said Ed, striding towards them. She had expected to see him wearing his traditional red coat, but he was donning the same camouflage that the others were dressed in, a gun slung at his hip. Winry frowned at that, this was new, she thought to herself. But given that he no longer held his alchemical ability, it was necessary for a soldier, she supposed.

"Let's go," Ed said slinging his own pack onto his shoulder and marching away from the group. "Samson, you're in charge of making sure the Doc does what she's told," he called over his shoulder and Winry bristled at his tone.

Samson patted her arm comfortingly. "He's in a real good mood Doc," she muttered as the group made their way across the foyer towards the gates.

"Standard," Winry replied darkly and Samson stifled a chuckle. She saw Ed tense ahead of them.

They exited the fortress on foot, into the freezing darkness beyond. Winry was held in the middle of the pack and the first thing she noticed was the extreme cold. The snow was deep here in the mountains and the temperatures plummeted at night to well below freezing. She questioned Samson about why they had made the risky decision to leave during the night but the First Lieutenant explained that travelling in the day was too risky, as they would be too exposed.

She followed as best as she could behind Samson. Ed was leading the way at the front of the pack, virtually jogging his way through the snow, the others trotting behind him to keep up. It started to snow not long after they left the fortress and it seemed to lift the mood of the soldiers. Winry was confused but Bulger explained from behind her that the snow would cover their tracks, ensuring that they couldn't be easily followed. She supposed that she had a lot to learn about warfare, not that she was really that interested in learning.

She shivered, the cold eating into her bones.

"You doing ok, Doc?" Samson asked her after a while Winry had to stop to catch her breath. The group stopped and she noticed Ed, turning from his position up ahead to survey his team.

She nodded, her breath puffing out in gasps, visible in front of her.

"Jeez, Doc," Samson exclaimed. "You're lips are turning blue." Winry was racked with another shudder.

"I-I'm f-f-fine!" she exclaimed petulantly. She was damned if she was going to be a drain on them. They needed to get to the hostages quickly.

"We need to make camp," Ed called from up ahead and the others turned to face him. "The temperatures are dropping too rapidly."

Samson stared at him for a moment before she nodded, taking Winry by the arm as they set off again, in search of shelter.

A few hours later and Winry was pretty sure her toes had turned into popsicles, but they stumbled across an abandoned cabin on the edge of the forest and crammed inside. Winry was relieved to sit down, her muscles aching from the long trek through the ever deepening snow and she was embarrassed at having to be practically dragged for the last mile or so by Bulger and Samson. She shoved her mittened hands between her armpits, rubbing her sides harshly, the friction warming her skin. And she groaned at the sensation.

Around her, the soldiers set about arranging a perimeter; there were orders given and a patrol organized; one person would sit watch at all points. Winry offered her services for a watch, but was laughed off by Phillips and told to get rest up, not unkindly. It was too risky to light a fire, for fear that the light would draw attention, so they had to put up with the small empty shack itself and the marginal shelter it provided from the cold winds.

Samson took the first watch after checking that Winry was ok and made her way outside to patrol the perimeter. Edward stood at the dark window, looking out with his hands braced against the frame. Bulger and Phillips settled down in a corner each and were asleep practically immediately, the sound of soft snoring filling the air. Cristal was rifling through her bag, looking for a jet boil to make a hot drink. She swore as she struggled with the zips on her bag and Winry piped up from her huddled position in the corner.

"H-h-here," she gestured to her bag. "T-take m-m-mine."

Cristal smiled at her. "You sure you're ok Doc?" She asked as she picked up Winry's bag, opening it and finding the jet boil and the bottle of water. Winry couldn't believe that the soldiers could be used to working in temperatures such as these, she felt like she'd never be warm again.

"P-p-peachy," Winry replied with a toothy smile. "W-wouldn't mind o-one of t-those as w-well, t-though," she stuttered.

The other woman grinned.

"We'd all b-be a lot better off it the M-Major there s-still h-h-had his alch-chemy," she babbled, softly, not looking at Ed. "He c-could t-transm-m-mute the f-floor into someth-thing other than a fr-r-reezing concrete slab." Cristal just shrugged, seemingly having no opinion on the topic and boiled two cups of water quickly, pressing a mug into Winry's frozen fingers.

"Drink up Doc," she murmured kindly as she retreated to her own corner.

Winry wrapped herself around the cup gratefully and tried to tune out the world. How the hell had she gotten herself into this? She sipped at the drink slowly, afraid of burning her tongue, but found that the liquid had cooled quickly enough for her to drink it easily. She downed the mug, feeling it's contents warm her insides and she hugged her arms to her chest, letting her eyes fall closed.

She dozed off some time later, the warmth of the liquid making her sleepy, but she awoke at the changing of the shift, her body curled in on itself, her back to the room. As Samson reentered the cabin a freezing wind blew into the room and Winry grit her teeth against the cold. Phillips took his shift with barely a word spoken and she heard Samson settle in next to Edward. Winry lay still in her prone position on the cold floor, with her back to them and willed herself to sleep. Someone had lain a blanket over her, during her doze, but it was doing little to abate the chill.

"Hows the Doc doing?" Samson whispered.

"She's frozen," Ed's response came, bitterly and Winry was surprised he was still awake. "She'll be no use to anyone at this rate."

Winry felt anger and resentment pool in her gut. She hated how weak he thought she was.

"So go warm her up!" Winry could hear the smirk in Samson's tone and she also heard the punch that it earned her.

"Idiot." Ed said affectionately and Winry was reminded of times that Ed would speak to her in such a tone. Heartache wrapped around her like an embrace when she thought about their past and how far they had come from those happy days.

She struggled to sleep for what felt like an age, her hands and feet beginning to ache from the cold. She rolled left and right, desperately trying to get comfortable on the concrete floor. Around her the soldiers slept soundly and she tried to move as quietly as she could, for fear of waking them, but damn she was freezing.

Her teeth were chattering together so ferociously that it was giving her a headache, when gentle hands turned her over. She blinked bleary eyes as Edward leaned over her, a peculiar expression on his face.

"Scoot over," he whispered and she frowned at him. "You're fucking freezing, Rockbell. I need to warm you up before you freeze." And he lay down next to her, pulling her into the curve of his body. She struggled against him for a moment in silence, not wanting to draw attention to their situation, but his arms held her firmly.

She began to relax against him as his body heat began to seep into her and she burrowed closer to him, appreciatively. His hands rubbed her back, the friction warming her as she shivered in his arms. He rolled over, pulling on top of him and she sputtered for a moment, before relenting.

"D-don't t-t-think this m-m-means a-anything, Elric-" she stuttered at him, defiantly.

"Shh," he whispered as he tucked her head under his chin. "This floor is freezing and you need to warm up a bit."

"But y-you'll f-f-freeze," she stuttered and she felt him smile against the top of his head.

"Nope, I'm well used to these conditions," he said quietly. "Been here a year, remember." They both stilled at his words; as if she could forget.

She didn't reply and after a while he continued rubbing her back. She grudgingly admitted to herself that this had been a good idea as she started to warm up slightly.

"I'm full of good ideas," Ed said happily and she realized she had mumbled that last part out loud. Waves of sleep rolled over her and she felt Ed's breath tickle her ear. "Sleep now," he murmured and she was lost.

She awoke cold and stiff on the concrete floor as the soldiers were packing up their gear. She flushed, cursing her brain for giving her such sweet dreams and groaned as she got to her feet while Phillips grinned at her.

"Doin' ok there Doc?"

"Just Peachy, thanks," she mumbled, embarrassed and stoically avoided looking anywhere near Edward.

It was only just dawn when they made their way quickly through the dark forest. The tree line provided good cover, but also made it difficult to spot anyone approaching. The journey was slow as they cleared every tree and corner one by one, but the movement helped to warm her up a little. Winry was tired from yesterday's journey but Samson told her quietly after a few hours of trudging through the seemingly endless forest, that they were approaching their target and Winry felt adrenaline course through her veins.

It took only another hour or so and it must have been around midday, not that you could tell form the dense cloud cover. They soon came to the edge of a large clearing near the top of the mountain and they hunkered down while Ed went to have a look around. It was a beautiful spot, and in a different situation the beauty of the location would have entranced Winry. At the far edge of the clearing there stood a ramshackle old cabin and Winry could vaguely make out some figures stood outside. This was obviously their target, she surmised.

They were well hidden, in the shadows of the trees and Ed used a series of sharp hand signals that Winry couldn't decipher. The rest of the team seemed tohave no such problem and acknowledged the information, swiftly. But when Ed pointed at her, locking eyes briefly, before turning his eyes back to his team, Winry understood that he was talking about her in some way. She didn't have time to dwell on that however as Samson grabbed her by the arm and jerked her away from the others, around the edge of the clearing into a more secluded area behind some rocks.

"You will wait here," Samson whispered, seriously, her eyes boring into Winry's. "Until I tell you that it is safe to come out." Winry nodded, her eyes wide. "If I do not tell you that it is safe to come out within 1 hour, you will take yourself back down this mountain and head back towards the fortress, do I make myself clear?"

Winry felt fear grip her chest. She nodded, hesitantly and Samson turned to leave, seemingly satisfied. Winry gripped the other woman's hand quickly.

"Be careful," she breathed.

Samson just nodded and left Winry there, alone.

Winry heard nothing but the thudding of her heart for the longest time. She did not want to think about what was happening to her team. She gripped her medical supplies to her chest, not knowing what she might be faced with when she was called, or even if she would be called.

For the longest time there was no sound and Winry wondered if what was going on. But then the sound of gunfire broke the silence and Winry had to clamp down on a moan of terror that escaped her lips. A voice shouted in alarm and Winry sunk down behind the rock she was hidden behind and closed her eyes, willing this to be over.

She didn't know how long it lasted. It felt like hours, but was probably more like minutes as she sat there against the rock, her breath puffing small clouds in front of her face.

She nearly screamed when a figure jumped over the rock and crouched next to her. It was Samson and he had a cut on her eyebrow.

"What's going on?" Winry said, her eyes wide as Samson turned to glance back into the clearing.

"There's a little more resistance then we were led to believe," she said distractedly. She turned to look at Winry and grinned. "Don't worry though, Doc. Major Elric is kicking some butt and we've got nearly all of the rebels rounded up." At Winry's shocked expression she nearly laughed. "You didn't think that the Major was going to let us kill them, did you?"

Winry didn't know whether to feel relieved, or surprised, that Ed wouldn't kill them. She had kind of assumed, when she saw him carrying his weapon that he was prepared to use it. But it had bothered her somewhat as it had been so far removed from the Ed that she had known, growing up. She was glad to see that not everything had changed. Especially this.

"Gotta go," Samson said, breathlessly. "Sit tight, Doc. Not long to go." And with that she leapt back over the rock and took off around the edge of the clearing sticking to the shadows of the trees.

Winry listened. The sound of gunfire was abating. There was some sporadic firing, but it was dwindling. Perhaps they were getting close to-

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" A voice bellowed to her right and Winry gasped, looking up into the face of a large man in a balaclava, his gun pointed at her viciously. She stared at the man, frozen in terror as he approached her, hauling her to her feet.

"I said, what are you doing, you little bitch!" The man backhanded her across the face and her neck snapped backwards and she tumbled to the ground. For a moment she saw stars and her head swam in pain. She breathed in the earthy scent of mud and leaves as she cowered in the snowy ground, the wetness of the snow seeping through her mittens.

He gripped her roughly by her upper arm and Winry winced in pain as she was dragged to her feet. She tasted blood in her mouth and her head was ringing. The man dragged her by the collar towards the clearing and she felt her heart beating like a jackhammer against her ribs.

"P-please…" she stuttered.

As the man dragged her across the clearing, her feet barely touching the floor, fear gripped her chest. Dammit, she thought, she had really screwed this up for the others.

The man stopped, throwing Winry down on the ground and she cried out, involuntarily. She heard him click a bullet into the chamber of his pistol and she felt the cool steel of the barrel of the gun against the back of her head. Winry gulped as tears sprang to her eyes. Ahead of her she could see the clearing, deserted, her team well hidden amongst the tree line, she surmised.

"Lay down your weapons, and come out," the man boomed into the clearing. "Or your pretty friend here will be missing half of her face."

There was nothing but silence and the sound of the wind for moment and Winry felt her tears slide down her throat.

"You have until the count of five," the man boomed. "And if you don't think I am serious," he moved the gun from the back of her head quickly, before Winry could register what was happening, and a deafening crack filled her eardrums and pain blossomed in her shoulder. She screamed in agony.

"That was a warning!" The man crowed. "Next time it will be her face."

Winry gasped, clasping her hand to her wounded shoulder. She probed the wound with shaking fingers. It was a clean through and through, there was no serious risk posed if she could stop the bleeding quickly. She gripped the wound tightly, strangling the scream that bubbled up on her lips.

The man sneered at her before turning back to the clearing. "ONE," he boomed.

Winry could feel herself going into shock. She noticed the pretty color of her blood in the snow and the way it looked like paint sprayed across a white sheet.

"TWO," he called.

She could feel her breath coming in quick, rapid pants and a cold sweat made its way across her skin.

"THREE,"

She felt a little faint. She was finding it difficult to focus on the scene around her and her mind kept getting distracted by the colors and patterns of the space around her.

"FOUR,"

Her world narrowed to a pinprick. For a moment she could swear she saw movement in the corner of her eye, a dark blur. But grey fog was rolling in on all sides.

"FIVE,"

Winry was aware of nothing as her world went black.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"Put pressure on it, for God's sake!" Said a frightened voice.

Winry struggled through the fog in front of her, back to consciousness. She became aware of two things, firstly she was in incredible pain and secondly Edward Elric was leaning on her shoulder, his hands pressing against it firmly, a livid expression on his face.

She bit back on the groan that bubbled up on her lips and blinked up at him. His eyes locked with hers and some of the anger melted.

"Y-you need to sit me up," Winry gasped.

"Shut the hell up," Edward barked and she was glad because it gave her something to focus on.

"Get my shoulder elevated, idiot!" she mumbled at him, pleased with the look of contrition he threw her. He helped her to sit up and her head pounded, she leaned against him and she could feel his heart hammering against her ear. God, he was scared.

"I'm going to be sick," she groaned as a wave of nausea rolled over her and she leaned to one side, her stomach emptying it's pitiful contents into the snow beside her with a god awful smell. "What happened?" She grit out through clenched teeth as Ed helped her back upright. She was weak and shaking as she leaned against him.

"Ah-Doc," Samson's head appeared over Edward's shoulder, a worried frown on her face. "Can we discuss the details after we patch you up? You're kind of bleeding all over the Major here."

"There's some gauze in my bag," Winry mumbled. Things were starting to get a little hazy again and the grey fog was rolling back in.

"Hey Ed?" she murmured, so quietly that only he could hear. Her tongue felt too big for her mouth.

"Yeah, what?" he muttered, distractedly, his hands still pressing firmly against her wound.

"Strap it up as tigh' as poss'ble an' sling th' arm, k?"

"O-ok," he replied, his voice sounding a little strange.

"I'm goin' pass ou' now," she heard herself say.

"Shit!"

When she came to again the world seemed to have taken on a lilting quality and the sky was a bright, brilliant white colour, here and there she could make out dead leaves in the sky, dotted around like stars in the night's sky. That couldn't be right, leaves didn't belong in the sky... She realized suddenly that she was being carried and she struggled against her assailant, lifting her head, weakly, from where it had lolled back on her neck, looking down at the snow covered ground.

"Winry," came Ed's annoyed voice. "Calm the hell down."

Samson's face came into view behind Ed's shoulder.

"Hey sleeping beauty!" The woman called with a tense smile, "You're awake!"

"So it would seem," Winry murmured as Ed set her down on her feet gently. She tried not to notice how closely he held her while she found her balance, his arms hovering around her protectively. She felt weak, possibly due to shock and blood loss, she mentally catalogued. But her arm had been strapped up nicely and there was no sign of blood seeping through the dressing, she was pleased to note.

"You going to tell me what happened now?" she grunted, glaring at Ed.

He stepped back away from her, leaving Samson to help her sit down.

"It was funny really," the dark haired woman said and she heard Phillips scoff, sitting down next to Winry with a tight smile. The rest of the team followed suit, Cristal taking watch as the others took a moment's rest. There were three men with them that she didn't recognize and she assumed that they were the hostages that they had been sent to retrieve. "You got yourself all captured and the Major here was just about the freak out, or have a heart attack or something," the First Lieutenant smirked. "But luckily, Captain Phillips here," she patted Phillips on the shoulder, proudly, "is an excellent marksman and he took out your captor at the last minute. And then all hell breaks loose," she waved her hands comically. "These guys," she points at the three unidentified men, huddled against a rock, "manage to slip their guards and take their weapons, and then all of a sudden there's only one or two rebels left to round up."

Winry's eyes widened comically.

"So they're all ok?" she asked Samson, looking at the men critically. They didn't appear to be seriously injured. Maybe a little malnourished, she noted.

"Yeah, **_they'r_** e fine, nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises, mainly." Samson waved a hand dismissively. "You're the only one who took a hit," Samson looked at her with a frown. "Just how in the hell did you manage to get yourself captured anyway?"

Winry grimaced.

"Just my luck, I suppose," she muttered. "I – I thought he was going to kill me…" she trailed off, her voice hoarse. She frowned suddenly. "I thought you didn't want to kill any of them," she asked.

Phillips and Bulger glanced at Ed, uneasily.

"Yeah, well. There was no way we were going to let that guy lay another finger on you," Samson said seriously.

Winry glanced up and met Ed's impenetrable gaze.

She was about to open her mouth to say… something, when she heard the sound of a vehicle nearby and Phillips pulled her down behind the rock they were sitting on as the others dived for cover.

A large truck rumbled past and Winry's breath was coming out in little pants. This was all getting a little too much…all she wanted was to get back to her little dorm and sleep. When the vehicle had disappeared, Samson helped her to her feet, carefully. She noticed Ed glance at her critically.

"They're looking for us," he ground out, running a frustrated hand across his face. Winry noted that he looked tired.

"What do you want to do, boss man?" Samson asked him, seriously, chancing a glance at Winry. "Doc's not in much shape to make a run for it."

Ed clenched his fists at his sides.

"Just-" Winry started. "Just leave me here." She suggested and the others turned to look at her. She blushed. "I'm not military. There's no need for them to attack me on my own…" she trailed off feeling foolish as the others gaped at her.

"No offense Doc," Cristal muttered after a moment of stunned silence, "but shut the hell up!"

Winry started and stared at the smaller woman who was glaring at her angrily.

"No-" Ed's voice stopped the question on Winry's tongue. "She's got a point."

"Major!" Samson blurted, shocked. "You cannot be suggesting-"

"What I'm suggesting, First Lieutenant," Ed turned to glare at his team. "Is that the rest of you high tail it back to base ASAP and get these men to command." He pointed at the three men who were huddled against the rocks, looking like they wanted nothing more than a hot meal and a warm bed. "What I'm suggesting is that you complete the primary objective of this mission, which is to return the hostages. Am I correct?"

"Yes Sir!" Samson spat at him and Winry was shocked.

"What I'm also suggesting," Ed's tone softened. "Is that I'll make my way back to base with Doctor Rockbell, more slowly, in order to evade detection." Samson clenched her jaw. "It will be more difficult for them to track two of us, than eight." Ed finished, and Winry knew he was right. Samson glared at him for a moment, before looking away concedingly; she knew it made sense, but Winry was touched to know that Samson cared about her enough to argue with Ed.

So it was decided that the others would head back to base immediately, using the steep incline of the cliff face to avoid detection, where the trucks could not pass, but that they would draw detection as much as possible to attract attention away from Ed and Winry. They set off, glancing back over their shoulders as they set off across the snow, through the growing darkness.

Ed and Winry waited for the others to leave before emerging from their hiding place, determined to make their way on their longer, yet more simple, route down the mountain. It would likely take the best part of 6 hours on a good day; slightly longer, given Winry's condition.

Winry took a tentative step, finding her legs shaky, yet stable and she sighed in satisfaction. She took another step and Ed scoffed.

"I don't think so," he muttered, scooping her into his arms as though she weighed nothing. She scowled at him.

"Edward Elric, you put me down this instant," she growled petulantly.

He just smirked at her. Making his way through the snow quickly, casting a furtive glance around him.

"Shut up, idiot," he said, not unkindly.

"Ed," she whined. "I'm serious. There is nothing wrong with my legs! You can't carry me the whole way, you'll break your back!"

He scoffed again and she resisted the temptation to whack him.

"Yeah, because you're so heavy!" He said sarcastically. "What do you weigh, like 60lbs?"

"Shut up," she growled and he did. She put up with him carrying her for a little while. She was so tired; she felt it creeping up on her and her head lolled against his chest.

"Hey, you still with me?" Ed asked, worriedly and she drew a deep breath. The darkness was drawing in and the temperatures plummeting. As they made their way slowly down the mountain, the snow was also deepening, increasing the length of time it took to get anywhere.

"Mmhmmm," Winry murmured, tiredly. "Put me down a minute," she muttered, feeling Ed's muscles clench tiredly as he struggled to carry her through the drifts. It was beginning to snow again but Edward set her on her feet on the edge of the mountain. The sun was setting over the mountain range and Winry turned her face towards the setting sunlight.

"Win," Ed warned, shaking out his arms. "We're too exposed here, we've got to move."

"Let me get on your back," she murmured, turning back to him and he frowned, looking at her sling. "I'll be fine," she snapped. "But you need a better way to carry me if you're going to insist on doing it through this deep snow."

He frowned, but nodded with a sigh, pulling her to him and bending forward.

"Ok, climb on," he said and she gently slung her good arm over his left shoulder, clasping it with his right. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist as he straightened and felt his left arm hook under her knees, holding her securely.

They made their way slowly downward and Winry placed her tired head in the crook of his neck.

"Thanks," she murmured in his ear, feeling him tense a little beneath her.

"What for?" He grunted.

"Saving my life," she all but whispered and he was quiet.

" _I_ didn't do anything," he said and Winry heard the bitterness in his tone but she didn't ask. She squeezed his hand in hers, softly and after a moment he sighed, squeezing back in return.

She must have fallen asleep or passed out at some point as when she regained consciousness she was lying on top of a warm body and it was almost completely pitch black. Winry cast her eyes up through the gloom and she could just make out that they were hidden beneath a den of branches. The air felt cold on her skin and she shuddered.

"Hey," a voice rumbled underneath her ear and she smiled.

"Hey," she rasped out and frowned. She wasn't in a great state; her body felt too warm and cold at the same time and her shoulder was throbbing in pain. She turned her head slowly and met Ed's tense eyes, glinting against the darkness around them.

He reached up a hand and placed it on her forehead and he cursed under his breath.

"You're running a fever," he uttered with a grimace. "Win, what do I do?"

She thought for a minute. Why was he asking her? Oh yeah, that's right, she was supposed to be the doctor. A giggle escaped her lips and she clamped her mouth shut and noticed through the gloom that an even more worried expression seemed to cross Ed's face.

She tried to think clearly for a minute. Fever suggested infection…

"I need clean water and antibiotics," she muttered. "You might have to sterilize the wound as well." She frowned at the thought of that; she didn't really fancy the pain that _that_ particular treatment would cause. "There's a bottle in the pack…ceftriaxone…"

He reached for her medical pack, on the ground next to him and rifled through it, but couldn't really see from his prone position. She made to roll off him, a groan on the tip of her tongue but she bit back on it. He eased her to one side so that he could sit up, pulling out a small micro-light torch and digging through the bag, quickly.

He seemed to find what he was looking for after a moment and turned to face her with a syringe and a vial of clear liquid. She made to take the syringe from him, but her hands were clumsy and he pushed them away gently, pulling the cap from the needle with his teeth. Tilting the bottle up he filled the syringe quickly.

"Where do I stick it?" He asked her, his eyes a little wild.

She thought for a minute. Ceftriaxone could be given intravenously or intramuscularly. "Into my wrist," she whispered, making to pull her jacket sleeve up. It was easier said than done with one hand. Ed took the syringe between his teeth for a minute and pulled her sleeve up, gently, his fingers brushing the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. He pulled off her glove and took the needle into his hand.

"You need to find the vein," Winry said gritting her teeth. Ed pressed his fingers against her wrist, watching the vein pop out against the pressure.

"You don't have to stab me too hard," she grumbled.

"Quiet, you," he murmured, sliding the needle into the vein gently and depressing the syringe, watching the contents evacuate into her arm. "All those years you tortured me with my tune ups…" he trailed off as she glanced at him, sharply. It had kind of become an unwritten rule between them that they didn't talk about the past.

She sighed, feeling the slow burn of the antibiotics working through her arm. "Well, you deserved it."

He couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips as he removed the needle from her wrist.

"Just who in the hell are you?" She blurted before she could stop herself and he frowned in the darkness, picking up a bottle of water and a packet of tablets.

"What do you mean?" He said quietly, turning to her and handing her the water and pills.

"One minute you're Mr Grouchy and the next you're laughing and joking and it's almost like old times…" she trailed off. "Never mind…" she said, holding out her hand and taking the pills from him, shoving them into her mouth, one handed. She made to take the water from him, but he ignored her request, bringing the water bottle gently to her lips. She scowled at him as he cupped the back of her head, helping her drink down the cool water gently. He put the bottle away when she had finished and buttoned up her jacket, without meeting her eyes.

"You need to get some rest," he murmured and she frowned, knowing an evasion when she heard one.

"Where are we anyway?" She asked quietly. It was pitch black outside their little den; the only light inside, from Ed's small torch.

"We're actually not that far form base," he said. "You got a little difficult to carry for a while though," she could see his grimace through the torchlight. "And I wasn't sure you were still breathing, so I made a shelter…thought it would be good to get a little rest for a while."

She nodded.

"It should only take a few hours to get to command," he continued. "But I'd feel better if you rested a little while longer."

She sighed; she did feel groggy.

"What in the hell did you just give me anyway?" She asked, curiously, realizing she had taken the tablets without checking what they were. He frowned.

"Tramadol…?" He said, questioningly.

"Fucking hell!" She blurted. "If you wanted me to be any use to you, that's blown it." Ed frowned. "Those pain killers would knock a horse on its ass."

Ed sighed. "Well, just rest a little now."

She let Ed help her lie down on the cold ground and she curled into him. She could feel the painkillers beginning to kick in. The pain seemed to become less important and she could start to feel a weird, muffled buzzing sensation in her head. Like she was experiencing the world from behind a cotton wool visor.

He lay down next to her, quietly and extinguished his torch. There was no sound for a little while except their breathing.

"Ed?" Winry whispered after a little while, unsure if he was asleep or not. When she got no response she sighed. "I'm sorry," she whispered, as quietly as she could, for fear of waking him. She felt sleep creeping up over her exhausted muscles. "so sorry," she mumbled against his side, "for whatever I did to make you hate me so much."

The sound of a truck drawing near drew her awake in a heartbeat and she felt Ed, already awake, tense and alert next to her.

It was starting to grow lighter outside and she saw him raise a finger to his lips, his weapon in his hand. Winry nodded, tightly.

They heard the truck stop and she felt Ed suck in a deep breath. A door slammed and voices could be heard calling to each other; the rebels were still looking for them.

Ed turned his face into Winry's neck, his hot breath muffled against her hair.

"Winry, I need to draw them away," he breathed against her and all she could do was shake her head in horror. "Yes," he replied, urgently. "If they find us here, we're both dead." She gripped his arm, tightly.

"No!" She breathed, anguished.

He gently pushed her hands away.

"I'll draw them away," he breathed and she could feel his heart beating hard against his ribs. "You stay here and **_do not_** make a sound. I will leave you a weapon. When I come back for you we'll head back to 53."

"What if you don't come back?" she almost sobbed.

"I will, " he drew back, staring into her eyes ferociously before he crushed his lips to her own. Winry gripped him to her, terrified to let him go, opening her mouth beneath him and feeling his tongue tangle with hers in a desperate dance. His hands fisted in the front of her jacket and then he was gone, drawing away from her. She tried her best not to whimper.

He pressed a gun into her one good hand, not meeting her gaze, before stepping silently out of the small shelter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This chapter has been bothering me as there are bits that I'm not that happy with. Please let me know how it reads, positive or constructive.**

 **CHAPTER 6**

Winry lay still, trembling on the cold ground for what felt like an eternity. She could hear the sounds of footfalls nearby and knew that the rebels were closing in on her position. She thanked God for what little dark remained as she was sure, had there been more light, they would have stumbled upon the small shelter almost immediately. Winry held the gun in shuddering fingers.

The footsteps drew closer. She could hear their breathing and she clutched the weapon, lifting it to point, liltingly, at the entrance to her makeshift shelter. A radio blurted to life nearby and she nearly misfired the weapon in surprise, jumping half out of her skin at the noise.

"We have a sighting at station 33, I repeat we have visual at 33…"

A string of curses, and then a man's voice, speaking from somewhere near Winry's ankles.

"Do you have suspect in custody?"

Winry held her breath.

"…Negative." Came the response and Winry held in the sob that she felt building in her chest.

"Shit," the man muttered. "Hey, Hollis!" he bellowed, presumably to his accomplice, "Better fire the truck up, we got the little bastards sneaking around 33."

"Roger that," came another voice and Winry prayed for them to leave quickly. She heard footfalls moving away followed by the sound of an engine starting to life and doors slamming.

The truck moved off quickly and she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling her clamoring heart begin to slow. She lay there, counting the minutes, listening for any trace that some of her trackers were still in the vicinity. There was only the sound of the wind outside and as the sun began to rise, the sounds of birds began to increase.

Winry lay still for over 45 minutes, her hands cramping on the weapon she held trained on the entrance to her makeshift tent. She counted each agonizing second, her breathing shallow and adrenaline coursing through her veins. How long would it take Ed to get back to her, she wondered; possibly hours. And what if the worst happened and he didn't make it back? Would she be able to get herself back down the mountain alone? She doubted it. Her fever seemed to have broken courtesy of the antibiotics, but her shoulder was still aching and the blood loss was making her weak and dizzy.

A sound outside the shelter startled her and Winry jerked the gun in her hands, holding her breath. There was silence for a minute and Winry wondered if she had imagined it before she heard another cracking noise, this time a little closer. Her heart hammered in her chest. It was definitely footsteps and someone who was taking the trouble not to be detected.

Her assailant crept closer and Winry felt like her heart was going to explode right through her chest. She was sure that her breathing must have been audible from about a mile away.

The footsteps stopped suddenly and Winry blinked sweat out of her eyes.

Edwards's face appeared around the side of the shelter and Winry was proud that she managed not to take his head off with the gun as she jumped out of her skin.

"Edward!" she whimpered, taking in the sight of him. He had a split lip and was clutching his right side, tentatively, but he was alive. "Are you ok?!" She gasped, struggling to sit up, the world around her lurching as she righted herself.

"I'm fine," he said, all business-like as he helped pull her from the shelter, grabbing the med pack and prizing the gun from her numb fingers.

She slapped him on the arm, suddenly and he looked at her, his eyes round.

"What was that for?" He asked, bemused.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" She spat at him and pushed past him, her trembling legs leading her away, woozily. She steadied herself on the trees around her as she made for the edge of the small thicket of trees that Ed had made their camp in. The Sun was creeping above the trees, casting long shadows here and there and Winry headed for the path, a scowl on her face. She was so angry with him, she could just scream.

He caught up to her quickly, catching her by the elbow. She tried to jerk out of his grip, but he held on tightly and she relented, letting him lead her down the side of the mountain, slowly, and she was relieved that he was letting her walk and not carrying her like some helpless damsel.

They didn't talk for the longest time, Winry focussing on putting one leg in front of the other and not putting too much of her weight on Ed. She could hear his breathing was a little labored after a while and she turned to him.

"What's wrong with your side?" She glanced down at where he was clutching his ribs with his left hand.

He grunted. "Took a blow," he muttered. "Mighta cracked some ribs."

She hissed through her teeth and made sure that she wasn't leaning on him at all after that. He didn't need to be carrying her back to 53 with his ribs all smashed up. Her own shoulder was beginning to throb intensely again and she felt weak and shaky. She realised with a start that neither of them had eaten in over roughly 36 hours and her body was really running on empty. She fished around in her pocket, producing a ration bar that Samson had stowed away before they had left and she tore it open with her teeth. She bit into half of the bar and handed the other half to Ed, who gave her a peculiar expression, but let her stuff the bar into his mouth. She chewed, quietly; grateful of the calories. As soon as she finished eating, however her stomach rumbled loudly and she appreciated just how hungry she actually was.

"So … are you going to tell me what happened?" Winry asked after a little while, trying to take her mind off her weak legs and her rumbling belly.

"Not much to tell," Ed grunted and she sighed.

"When was the last time you spoke to Al?" She asked him, trying to find another topic of conversation. She was keen to keep him talking, take his mind of his air was warmer today; the sun was high in the sky and it blazed down, warming the frigid air around them and Winry was thankful that they would not have to struggle through the bitter cold.

He frowned.

"I dunno," he muttered. "Maybe eight months ago?"

Winry was surprised at that. The brothers, once so close, seemed now to be so distant with each other, as well as with her.

"So what happened?" She asked, her feet feeling heavy as they descended downwards. She could see the bottom of the mountain now and knew they were getting close.

Ed frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, something must have happened...you and Al were inseparable for as long as I've known you. And all of a sudden, you're on different sides of the world, barely speaking. Neither of you got in touch with me or Granny… Something must have-"

"Arrghh-" Ed doubled over, gripping his side in pain and Winry paused, concerned.

"Ed?! What's wrong?!" She gasped.

"My ribs," he grunted.

"Shit," she murmured, dropping the bag in front of her and opening it, clumsily with one hand. She pulled out her stethoscope and grabbed the back of his jacket, sticking her hand underneath with the stethoscope, reaching it up his naked back.

She listened as he breathed. Noting the regular rhythm of his breathing, despite its shallowness.

"It sounds ok, I don't think you've punctured a lung," she muttered. "It's going to hurt like hell when you breathe for a while though. Not exactly ideal for any kind of exercise…" she trailed off, looking around them.

They were still a couple of miles from the fortress and the snow at the base of the mountain was at its deepest and she wondered how they were going to get him back there. She looked at him. His face was pale and he was sweating.

"Maybe…" she started. "Maybe I should head back to 53 and come back for you with a transport?" she suggested. He just glared at her.

"I'm fine," he stood up with a grimace and Winry just scowled. He always had been stubborn. She packed up the bag and followed him, her own steps a little wobbly.

It took them close to three hours but when they finally caught sight of 53 Winry felt her heart lurch in joy. They were finally home. Her legs felt leaden but she continued to trudge through the snow, she and Ed, propping each other up until they came upon the entrance and were ushered inside.

Stretchers were called and Winry gratefully collapsed into one, feeling the aches and pains of her body finally come to full light. She groaned, deeply. As Ed tucked her feet onto the stretcher, nodding to the guards who picked her up, gently.

She grabbed his hand in her good arm before they had a chance to move off, pulling him down to eye level.

"Thank you," she whispered, quietly. His eyes did something funny and a cloud passed across his face, slowly and before she knew it she was staring into the face of a man she barely recognised.

"Doc, I just did what anyone would have done to keep you alive," he said, coldly. She felt a chill creep up her spine.

"No…" she breathed, frowning at him.

"Yep," he said, coldly, tipping his eyes to the ceiling. "I just did what anyone would have done. After all, it wouldn't look great on my record if you'd actually succeeded in getting yourself killed."

Crack!

Her hand slapped him across the cheek so hard that his lip split open again. Blood trickled down his chin and he gaped at her, his eyes wide.

She turned away from him; she couldn't bear to meet his eyes.

"Liar," she growled, loud enough only for him to hear, the tears streaking down her temples. "Let's go," she said loudly to the guards holding her stretcher who were watching the scene unfold with a mixture of amusement and trepidation. She left him there, clutching his ribs as soldiers fussed around him.

She spent a week in the hospital wing. When she'd been brought in Lukas had been shocked and angry at what her condition, asking her what had happened. She had fobbed him off with some excuse about a training exercise as he had stitched her wound carefully, a tight-lipped frown on his face. She had needed a blood transfusion after the amount of blood she had lost and was placed on an IV drip and given iron tablets for anaemia. She had been placed in bay 4, the three hostages from the mountain in bays 1-3. She had smiled, gently as them, each relaxing in their own beds as she had been wheeled in on a gurney.

Ed had been brought in a few hours after she had; after Lukas had stitched up her wound. She was laid in her bed dozing softly as he was brought in. She'd opened her eyes to slits as he was placed in bay 5, next to her; taking in his ruffled appearance. Samson was with him, she noticed and she'd closed her eyes, tuning out the sound of Layla, the healthcare assistant testing his pain. Ed had been terse and short with her, verging on rude, but Winry had found she just couldn't drum up the effort to care. When Layla had come to check on her a little while later, she had asked the younger woman to draw the curtains around her bed. What she wanted was privacy and sleep. She had caught Samson's eye as the curtains around her bay were drawn swiftly, the other woman looking downright miserable and she wondered just what Samson had to be so upset about all the time.

She recovered quickly. Samson, Phillips, Cristal and Bulger all visited her a few times, but she was too frustrated by Ed's bi-polar personality changes that she wasn't great company and she's dismissed them quickly. As she had expected, Ed had checked himself out of the hospital wing after just a day or so and Winry had managed to avoid speaking to him for the duration of his stay.

She herself was allowed to go back to her room after another couple of days, but she was on strict instructions to rest.

After a few hours staring at her blank walls Winry found she was going stir crazy so she decided to go for a walk, strapping her arm into it's sling and slipping a jacket around her shoulders. She stepped onto the ward and ran straight into Lukas, looking tense and unnerved.

"Winry!" he exclaimed.

"Are you ok?" she asked him, worriedly.

"Me?" He asked, hurriedly, "of course! What are you doing out and about?" He asked with a frown. "You're supposed to be resting!"

"I'm going mad staring at the wall, Lukas," she mumbled. "I wont go far, I just need to stretch my legs a little."

To her surprise he nodded, in agreement. "Yes, a good idea," he said. "Why don't you go down to the courtyard at the center of the fortress?" He said distractedly, grabbing some paperwork from the nurses station.

"Ok," Winry agreed and he smiled.

"Excellent," Lukas said, his eyes glancing around, distractedly. "I'm sorry Winry, I'm a little busy so I'll leave you to it if you don't mind." He stepped away from her with a tight smile and Winry nodded, heading for the exit.

Poor Lukas. It was bad enough that they were in the midst of a war zone. Add to that the fact that he had lost his junior doctor and the poor man was working double and triple shifts just to stay on top of his caseload. Winry decided that she would have to get back to work ASAP, even if just in an administration capacity.

She rounded a corner on her way down to the courtyard and found Samson, looking frustrated and distracted. She smiled at the other woman who gave her a tight smile in return.

"Just the person I wanted to see," Samson's chipper tone didn't quite meet her eyes as she came alongside Winry.

"You were looking for me?" Winry asked, surprised.

"General Wilson would like to debrief you personally," Samson said, her voice low and Winry frowned; this would surely involve the entire team again and she just _relished_ the thought of being in a room with Edward again.

"Can't I just have one day where no-one yells at me, or scowls at me, or throws me into a precarious situation?" She grumbled as she followed Samson around the next bend in the corridor and into General Wilson's rooms. The aide outside the door, gestured them straight into the office as Samson chuckled, humorlessly.

Surprisingly Edward was not in the room and Winry breathed a small sigh of relief as the General invited him to join him by the fireplace on the small couch. Winry smiled at Phillips, Bulger and Cristal who were stood behind the couch, their hands clasped behind their backs. They smiled at her in return, but there was tenseness in their faces and Winry wondered what was going on.

"Doctor Rockbell," the General started. "I was so sorry to hear of your misfortune up on the mountain." He looked genuinely troubled and she smiled at him softly.

"No serious damage done, Sir," she said, patting her sling and he nodded.

"Well, I must say that it was a relief that none on my men were wounded, or we might be facing a different situation entirely, now," Winry nodded in agreement. It was sheer luck that had kept them all alive, she would have been useless if she had needed to administer emergency treatment.

"I wanted to bring you here to thank you," the General continued. "But also to explain to you the importance of confidentiality in relation to this mission." Winry frowned.

"Sir, you don't have to worry about that…" she trailed off.

"No, I don't believe that I do," he said kindly. "But I just wanted to make sure that we are on the same page. This mission was classified and as such it's details need to stay so. That means you cannot discuss what took place on the mountain to anyone. Not your friends, not your co-workers." The General had a glint in his eye and Winry nodded.

"Of course, Sir," she said, honestly.

He looked at her for a moment and then clapped his hands together with a smile.

"Good. Now, I believe you will want to say goodbye to the team," he said and Winry looked at him in confusion.

"Did Major Elric not tell you?" He looked surprised. "He and his team are due ship out to the front line this afternoon." Winry turned to look at Samson her heart in her throat. The front line?! She had seen what happened to soldiers who came back from the front.

"When…?" she breathed.

"We got the order a couple of days before our guys were taken hostage," Samson said, not meeting Winry's eyes and Winry found her mind working overtime. So Ed had known the whole time they were on the mountain. He had known that when they got back he'd be shipping off to war. She nodded, aghast and stood to leave.

"I... I need to see Ed," she muttered, turning to leave.

"That's not...a good idea," Samson called and Winry turned. The General was looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"I don't care," Winry breathed and fled from the room.

Her feet flew across the floor as she took the steps two at a time. She knew that Lukas would scold her for overdoing things but she needed to see Ed before he ...left.

The nameplate outside his door was shiny and smooth and she found herself staring at it, unable to bring herself to knock. He obviously had a problem with her and didn't want to see her. But she couldn't allow him to go off to the front line without saying goodbye.

She raised a hand, hesitantly.

"It won't open itself," a stern voice said from behind her and she whirled. Ed was standing, leaning against the wall behind her, a towel wrapped around his neck and his arms folded. He was wearing just a black vest and pants, his feet barefoot and Winry wondered, idly what he had been doing.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she blurted accusingly.

"Tell you what?" He sighed, although his eyes were almost worried.

"You're going to the front." Winry noticed the way that his eyes widened fractionally and she wondered if he was scared.

"Why would I have to tell you?" He scoffed, pushing off from the wall and standing upright, his hands on the towel at his shoulders.

"Because I'm your friend," she whispered.

His eyes did something funny then, and not for the first time Winry felt that he was warring with himself. He closed his eyes and when he opened them he was the Ed that she knew, his eyes, searching her face.

"Hopefully we'll be back in two days. It's just a stand in assignment... we're just there to support..."He stepped closer to her then. "You know you don't have to be sorry-" He shut his mouth sharply, a blush rising on his cheeks. She frowned, what was he talking about. He shook his head and made to step around her, opening his door. He hesitated on the threshold. "It's nothing that you did," he breathed over his shoulder and then he disappeared into his room and Winry was left staring at the door, dazedly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

 **WARNING - This chapter contains graphic depictions of sexual situations and is the main reason that this story is rated M. This chapter is also verging on unpleasantly angsty and may seem to contain out of character behaviour. However please be reassured that there is a good reason for this and the story arc that is being played out in the background will be fully explained in due time and will account for the seemingly out of character behaviour. I apologise for torturing my characters (and readers). Please do be reassured that there is a good reason for this OOC behaviour and that all will be revealed in due course.**

 **As always, if you take the time to read, please leave a review. Constructive criticism is well received and genuinely helps the story to get better.**

 **CHAPTER 7**

She was working the late shift when the news came in. The front line had suffered a heavy shelling; there had been some causalities and sadly, one fatality. She had gripped the pen she was holding so tightly that she felt it crack in her hand as she asked the chalk-faced messenger, "Who was it?" Her heart, thumped loudly in her chest.

"Second lieutenant Cristal," the man had responded, rubbing the back of his neck in shock. "She was…nice," he had trailed off.

For a moment Winry felt a tingle of relief that Ed was ok, followed by a wave of shame for thinking that, after Cristal… Her hand moved to cover her mouth in shock and she felt tears pool at the corners of her eyes. Cristal had been, well, she hadn't exactly been a friend, but she had been friendly and she'd been kind, and she'd helped save Winry's life up on the mountain. And now she was gone. She felt the tears spill over and the messenger patted her arm awkwardly.

She imagined how Ed must be feeling. He carried the lives of the people he worked with on his own shoulders and she knew that Cristal's death would hit him harder than anyone else.

She squared her shoulders, her shift was ending, but given the situation it was all hands on deck. Winry set about clearing as much space as she could whilst they waited for the convoy to arrive. She restocked the blood supplies, which were running surprisingly short, again, and prepared as many instruments as possible. It wasn't long before the wounded were being stretchered in. There were a number of faces she didn't recognise with varying injuries and then there were those that she knew; Phillips, Samson and Bulger; none of whom were in a life threatening state, but severely injured none-the-less. _Good God!_ Winry thought to herself, surveying the carnage before her. Edward was nowhere to be seen, which pleased her, but she couldn't waste time thinking about him now, not while there was work to be done.

She set to work immediately, falling behind her mask of neutrality quickly and easily. It was easy to distance herself from the horrors she faced on a daily basis behind her professional facade; it shielded her and kept her sane. She worked quickly and efficiently, Lukas joined her here and there; each moving around the other in a practiced dance, checking on every patient and assigning priority treatment.

Many hours later, she sat down with a satisfied sigh. All patients were stable and recovering. She cast a smile towards Lukas. He looked as tired as she felt, his white coat was gone and his sleeves were rolled up past his elbows, his shirt collar open and tie askew.

The door to the ward opened and a trolley was pushed inside and Winry lost the warm feeling she had gained through saving the fives lives of the soldiers in her care. The body bag was brought in on a gurney and left against the wall. The orderly brought a clipboard to her.

"You need to sign for the body," the man said, quietly and Winry's shocked eyes flicked to his face. He was a young man, with a kind face and he smiled at her sadly, holding the clipboard to her. In that moment Winry could only think of Ed.

"I'll do it," said Lukas, appearing at her shoulder and taking the clipboard hastily. She smiled at him appreciatively and made to stand.

"If it's ok with you, I'm going to take my leave now," she mumbled.

"Of course," Lukas said distracted, not looking up from the paperwork and Winry turned to leave. She made her way back to her room, slowly, her muscles screaming in tiredness and a deep sadness resonating over her.

Cristal had been so young. Too young to die…

Winry busied herself with showering and changing her clothes, brushing her hair firmly, yanking the brush through her tangled locks. She couldn't bear to think about the fate that had awaited the young woman in the body bag. And she desperately tried not to think about where Edward was now and what he was doing.

The hairbrush fell from her limp fingers and she was moving before she even realized what she was doing. She had to get out of this room. Her feet carried her through the now quiet and dark hospital ward and out into the corridor beyond. She paid little mind to where her feet took her, her mind a jumble of information. How could this have happened? What if it had been Edward?! She shook her head at the selfish thought and pushed it aside. That poor woman.

She should have known that she would end up at his door and when she blinked up at his nameplate she sighed, resignedly. She knew that this probably would not end well, but she was never one to sit by whilst her friends suffered.

 _But Ed isn't your friend any more_ , a small voice in the back of her mind told her. She gritted her teeth. Edward may not want to be her friend any more, but she could damn well still be there for him.

She raised a hand and knocked with more confidence than she felt.

Nothing. She waited a few moments. Maybe he was asleep. When there was no response from inside, she knocked again a little harder. No response. Doubts started to creep into her mind; maybe he was out; maybe he just didn't want to see anyone.

She turned to leave, frustrated with herself for starting this foolish errand, but stopped. No, she had to see this through. Ed needed her. Well...Maybe he didn't but she needed to know that he was ok.

Breaking into his room was easy. She'd done it before and although he had increased the security on his door, it was easy for a former mechanic such as herself to bypass.

She stepped into the dark room and frowned when she found it empty. The door slid shut behind her and she sighed into the darkness. Now what? She considered leaving to try and find him. She considered going back to her room. But in the end Winry sat down on Ed's unmade bed to wait for him. As her eyes adjusted to the dark she noticed how little of Ed's personality there was in this cramped room. There were no pictures on the wall, none of his dusty old books stacked in the corner. The room was cold and stark and she shivered at the thought of Ed living here.

She scooted back on the bed, drawing her knees up to her chest and running a hand along the starchy blankets. The only thing about this room that even hinted of Ed was his smell on the blankets, she mused and her heart constricted.

She must have fallen asleep because some time later she was awoken as light spilled into the dark room from the hallway and she blinked up from her position curled up on his bed. Ed stepped into the room and stared down at her prone form. She stared at him with round eyes as he stared back at her. His face was so naked and open that her heart clenched in agony. She sat up slowly.

"Hey," she murmured.

He sighed and his shoulders sunk, his dark hair falling to obscure his face. Winry tucked her legs underneath her and twisted her hands in her lap. She didn't know what to do.

"I can't do this right now Win…" Ed's voice was so laced with pain that Winry nearly gasped and she pushed off of the bed in an instant, her arms wrapping around the taller man's tense frame. His muscles clenched as she held him, but she refused to let go, refused to let him push her away this time.

"Then don't," she whispered against his chest, feeling a shiver run up his spine. He smelt of gunpowder and alcohol and she repressed a shudder at the thought of the battle he had been through and the personal demons he had faced since returning to base.

Slowly, painfully slowly, his arms came up around her and he pulled her to him, burying his face in her neck. He crushed her to him, his whole body shaking and Winry had to fight against her tears that threatened to spill out.

"Oh Edward," she gasped out. "It wasn't your fault."

He just shook his head and she could feel wetness begin to pool against her neck, dripping down over her collarbone and she crushed him to her harder, shielding him, protecting him from himself. She felt the tears that she had been trying to hold back break free making trails down her cheeks.

They stayed locked in that tense embrace for how long, she didn't know and she whispered soft comforting words to him as they cried silently together. He had never let her see him cry and he refused to let her pull away, even now, ashamed of his own humanity.

She could feel the tension go out of him after a while and she pulled him with her as she stumbled backwards towards the bed. Surprisingly he went with her and she drew him down on top of her, resting his head against her chest as she ran her fingers through his dark bangs, wiping them from his forehead caringly.

"It's ok, I'm here," she whispered to him as she felt his breathing even out and she knew that it was probably days since he had last slept.

"Don't leave me," he murmured tiredly and Winry felt her chest constrict again as she hugged him to her.

"Never," she whispered, emphatically into his hair as she kissed the top of his head.

He was asleep before she could even exhale and she pulled him to her softly, determined to see him through the night and protect him from his own nightmares if needs be.

She awoke slowly some hours later. Her watch told her that she had barely been asleep for 6 hours after her 18-hour shift and her body protested against its wakeful state. She turned her head to the side and her tired eyes met amber irises, softly lidded.

She came back to full awareness as she realized she was in Ed's room. In Ed's bed. With Ed. She blushed heavily and she was glad that the room was so dark.

"H-how are you feeling?" She asked him throatily, turning onto her side to face him. He was leaning up on one elbow gazing down at her and she wondered how long he had been awake. Even through the gloom she could see the dark circles underneath his eyes and she reached out a hand to touch one. He closed his eyes, almost in pain as her hands grazed his face, softly. She withdrew her hand and his eyes fluttered open, searching her face. For a moment Ed just looked at her. There was a deep sadness in his eyes, but then he blinked and it was like he had steeled himself, locking his pain away as his mouth set into a determined line.

Winry's heart was beating erratically and her breathing sounded ridiculously loud in her ears. Excruciatingly slowly Ed lowered his face towards hers and Winry forgot how to breathe as his lips brushed hers. She sighed into his mouth as he hovered over her, drawing him to her. His weight was resting on his forearms either side of her head as he kissed her gently, more gently than she could ever remember. His kisses were almost reverent.

Gently he teased her mouth open with his tongue, swiping it inside her mouth and Winry couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips at the feel of him in her mouth. He smelt so strongly of home of apple pie and cut grass and machine oil. This was the Ed that she had grown up with, had teased about his height and who had chased her around the garden on hot summer days.

His kisses became more fervent and for a moment his lips left hers and Winry whimpered at the loss of contact. She felt him smile against the skin on her throat as he suckled and kissed a trail from below her jaw to her collarbone and she gasped his name, arching her back and clawing at his shoulders.

He rolled so that his weight was more fully on top of her and Winry's legs spread of their own volition. She trailed her hands from his hips, underneath his shirt, seeking warm, toned muscles and she delighted in hearing him moan against her neck as she trailed her nails up his back, pulling his shirt with her.

He sat up quickly and pulled his shirt over his head and Winry stared at him through lust -lidded eyes. His body was almost too perfect and Winry suddenly became very conscious of her own soft curves. She raised a hand and trailed it along his leanly muscled abdomen, watching the muscles contract beneath her fingers. She was overcome with a desire to see how his skin tasted and she sat up underneath him, and brought her lips to his chest.

He groaned as she trailed hot, wet kisses along his chest and down his stomach, dipping her tongue below the waistband of his pants, hearing his breath go shallow.

She found herself being pushed back against the pillows and Ed's hands were worming underneath her shirt and Winry couldn't help the groan that the contact of his skin on hers brought. He stripped her of her shirt quickly and she fidgeted under his gaze as he drank in the sight of her naked chest.

"God you're beautiful," was all he said before leaning down and claiming her mouth once again. Winry could feel wetness pooling between her thighs and she was aching for Ed so badly. She wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him to her, moaning at the contact of his hardness against her.

"Not yet," he whispered with a smile before taking her nipple into his mouth. The sounds he was drawing from her should have been illegal, Winry vaguely thought as he lavished her breasts with his mouth and hands.

She ran her hands down his back, slick with sweat and traced the curve of his ass, hearing him gasp against her chest. She squeezed his delectable flesh hard and pulled him towards her, pulling her knees up so that he had no doubt what she wanted.

He raised his head from her chest and cocked an eyebrow at her mischievously. She writhed in protest and he trailed a finger achingly slowly down between her breasts to hover below her navel at the hem of her pants. He arched into his hand by way of invitation and his hand slipped inside her pants and Winry's breathing went desperately shallow.

His fingers found her wetness and he groaned, slipping a digit into her slick depths and Winry nearly came right there. It was so intimate.

"Please," she panted. "Ed, I need you." She was fully aware of what she was offering him and she was pretty sure he was too. She was not experienced when it came to sex, she had been saving herself for him her whole life and she had never wanted him as much as she did right now.

He gazed at her through heavy lidded eyes for a moment, the weight of the situation hanging between them in the air, before he slowly unzipped her pants and pulled them gently from her legs, his eyes not leaving hers.

He stood up for a moment and unzipped his own pants, letting the material fall away to the floor, heavily. His beautiful body entranced Winry and she felt a blush heat her chest, as he stood naked before her, the evidence of his arousal so prominent.

She slid backwards on the bed, making room for him and he joined her, kissing her deeply and trailing hands down her feverishly hot skin. She pulled him between her legs and he obliged. She felt his arousal stroking her wet folds and they both groaned. Winry tipped her hips urging him forwards and he glanced down at her, letting his weight rest on his elbows either side of her head. He gazed into her eyes as he slipped inside of her and Winry gasped at the feel of him filling her. There was a slight pinch and a frown crossed her face.

"Ok?" Ed asked her with concern.

She hummed an affirmative as he kissed her forehead, gently as she got used to the feeling. Slowly he began to move and Winry groaned at the feel of him within her her. It was like nothing she could describe and she wanted to feel more. She tilted her hips, satisfied to hear a responsive moan from Ed's lips as he thrust into her. She angled her pelvis and was granted with a delicious sensation.

Their lovemaking was slow at first but grew in intensity and as their passion spiraled Ed gripped Winry's wrists in his good arm, pinning them above her head and slamming into her hard, her knee in the crook of his elbow.

Winry felt her orgasm approaching like the tides of the ocean and it rolled over her in an earth shattering crash. She felt Ed tense over her and he might have moaned her name but Winry was unaware of anything for a few moments except the white noise rushing in her ears. She felt Ed's body collapse on top of her as she struggled for breath.

There was nothing but the sounds of their ragged breathing for a few moments and Winry was sure that her heart was going to burst out of her chest. She trailed lazy fingers up Ed's spine, delighting in the goose flesh that rose in their wake.

After a few moments Ed rolled off of her, sitting on the side of the bed with his back to her. Winry gasped at the loss of contact and the unpleasant sticky feeling between her legs and sat up, wrapping arms around Ed's naked torso and rested her ear on his shoulder blade.

"I've missed you," she whispered and she felt Ed tense.

He stood up quickly, grabbing his pants from the floor and stepping into them quickly. She frowned at him, red warning lights blinking in her mind.

"Listen, Winry-" he started, not meeting her eyes and she felt her stomach drop.

"No," she gasped, horrified by what she knew was about to come.

Ed finally glanced at her from where he was pulling his shirt on and Winry felt the need to pull the blankets around her as he did so.

"This was great and everything but-"

"Ed…" she whispered, in dismay. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, yet again.

"-but, well, you know I don't really like you like that and all, and it wont happen again ok." Ed was speaking over her left shoulder and Winry was aware of the situation as though she was watching it from outside of her own body. She felt numb. She felt cheap and used. And never in one million years would she have ever thought that it would be Edward to make her feel this way.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered and he turned to look at her, not quite meeting her eyes.

"What's the matter? It was just a lay," he frowned at her, a muscle in his jaw working furiously. "The girls don't usually get so emotional afterwards…"

Winry's heart shattered into a million pieces and she heard nothing but white noise as she digested what she had just heard. A little voice in her head was repeating the words _Oh shit!_ Her face must have done something strange as Ed paled a little, looking at her strangely. Winry felt numb as though she was looking at the situation from high above. She picked up her clothes with shaking hands, pulling her pants on and getting her shirt over her head. There were no tears…she was beyond them.

She was vaguely aware of Ed saying something about priorities and missions but she wasn't listening, her eyes on the floor, her hair falling across her face. and her own heartbeat ringing in her ears. When she thought about what she had just given him she felt bile rise in the back of her throat., knowing that it obviously meant nothing to him. The knowledge that he had been with other women… it was too painful to even acknowledge.

She stood, slowly, on shaking legs and reached out to steady herself when she stumbled against the wall. She was loosely conscious of the fact that Ed was very pale and his jaw was clenched, but she couldn't look at him. She didn't think she would ever be able to look at him again.

"Hey, are you going to be ok?" Ed mumbled, his voice shaking a little.

She didn't reply, simply stumbling from the room and running back to her own dorm in a daze.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

The next week passed in a blur. Winry took a few days sick, unable to face her colleagues, or even herself. She had returned to her dorm, after _it_ had happened and thrown up spectacularly, her body shaking in shame and humiliation; before crawling under the steamy shower spray. She willed the water to wash away the traces of Ed on her body as she had scrubbed her skin viciously, revelling in the pink welts that appeared beneath her ministrations. She had sat huddled in the bottom of the shower cubicle for hours until the water had run cold and she was left, shivering. She had crawled from the shower, numb and broken and fallen into her bed where she had remained for the next three days, too deadened to find the energy to do more than blink.

Lukas had come the first day, wondering when she was going to relieve him. She had not even bothered to poke her head out from within her covers, telling him that she wouldn't be able to work, she was too sick. He was concerned but she sent him away quickly, not wanting to speak to him.

He checked on her periodically, bringing her food and water, all of which went untouched. She didn't sleep. She would have welcomed the numbing oblivion of sleep, but she could not make her eyes close, despite the deep-seated exhaustion that resonated within her being.

On the third day Samson visited. Winry refused to meet her gaze, staring stoically at the wall beside her bed, her back to the dark haired woman.

"I…heard you weren't well," Samson seemed embarrassed. Winry said nothing. The First Lieutenant shuffled her feet in the doorway. "Can I, get you anything?" she muttered. When Winry didn't respond she heard Samson sigh. "The funeral for Cristal is taking place this afternoon," she murmured as she turned to leave. "Thought you might want to be there…."

Winry felt guilt twist in her gut. Here she was wallowing in self-pity, when Cristal was dead for God's sake! She disgusted herself. Weakly she heaved herself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom. She barely recognized the woman in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, sticking up all over the place and in desperate need of a wash. Her skin was pale and worn, seemingly stretched thin over her bones, giving it a waxy appearance. She splashed some water over her face, feeling it trickle down her neck as she stood up. Her sunken eyes stared back at her and she wondered how her life had come to this. Maybe she should just give it up and go back to Resembool.

No!

A little voice in the back of her mind, yelled at her. There was no way that she could quit now, not after all her hard work to get here. So Edward had broken her heart. So what. She swallowed the pain that flared in her chest when she thought about him and squared her shoulders.

It was time she stopped thinking so much about _him_ and start concentrating on herself.

She showered and applied a little makeup, trying to cover the dark bags under her eyes, but she couldn't do much about the hollows that were appearing at her cheeks and she winced, determined to try to eat a little more regularly.

She dug out her smartest black dress, a matching black jacket and put her heels on. It wasn't often that she wore heels, preferring a more comfortable style of shoe. She stepped in front of the mirror, surprised at the woman who looked back at her. She looked older than she could remember, her face drawn and tired. Her clothes hung off her thin frame loosely, showing just how much weight she had lost since arriving at the fortress. She sighed and turned to leave, making her way through the virtually empty ward, she was startled to notice that all of the beds were empty. In all the time she had worked here, they had never had an empty ward. Perhaps it was just her who attracted trouble, she mused as she wandered out into the hall.

She made her way through the quiet corridors down to the mess hall, unprepared for the huge gathering of people inside. The mess was packed out; all of the soldiers standing around, quietly chatting, in full dress uniform. The mood was somber and she clung to the wall, watching the scene unfold in front of her as made her way around the room to the bar.

"Large white wine," she murmured at the bar man, who simply nodded, turning to fulfill her order.

"I'll get that," rumbled a voice next to her elbow and Winry felt every muscle in her body clench in anxiety.

"I'm fine, thank you," she spat, refusing to look at Edward. She took the glass from the bartender, passing him a crumpled note from her purse before Ed could protest and turned her back on him, pushing her way through the crowd. She could feel him following her and she gulped a large sip of her wine, feeling it burn her throat. She saw Samson ahead of her and she made a beeline for the other woman, hoping to avoid a confrontation with Edward.

"Hi," she murmured to the other woman, breathlessly. Samson looked at her from where she had been talking to Phillips and grinned, pulling Winry into a tight hug, spilling her wine by accident. Winry swore and Samson grinned. Phillips grinned at Winry also, pulling her in to kiss her on the cheek.

"Damn, Doc," he said putting her at arm's length to look at her. "That must have been one nasty bug you've had, you're nothing but skin and bones." Samson's expression did something funny and she glared at a point past Winry's shoulder, venomously.

"Yeah," Winry flushed as Ed appeared next to her.

"Major," Phillips saluted the oldest Elric brother and Samson just rolled her eyes.

There was an awkward silence for a moment and Samson glanced between Ed and Winry. Ed's gaze was burning a hole in the side of her head but Winry was determined not to make this memorial about her and Ed and stoically refused to meet his gaze, instead taking another large gulp of wine.

Ed was about to open his mouth when the ceremony began. The General entered the room and all of the uniformed soldiers sprang to attention, saluting their commanding officer as he passed. He approached a microphone at the end of the room, on a raised platform.

"At ease, everyone," he said kindly. And the room seemed to relax, collectively. "We're here today to say goodbye to one of our own. Our comrade in arms. Our sister. Mary, Elizabeth Cristal."

The room was intensely quiet and Winry bowed her head, letting her mind drift to her memories of the young woman in question.

"Mary was a strong woman," the General continued. "A dedicated soldier, a brilliant marksman and a good friend to many of you here today." He paused surveying the room around him. "She is survived by her parents, in Dublith whom I had the difficult duty of contacting yesterday." The General sighed.

"It is never easy," he said. "Losing one of our own. But we will overcome. We will grow strong. And the bonds that are forged in combat cannot be broken by death." He raised a glass to the room. "To Mary, Elizabeth Cristal. May she rest in peace." He drank from his glass as Winry and the room murmured softly "May she rest in peace."

The General stepped down from the platform and the soldiers around the room sprung back to attention, saluting their commanding officer as he left the hall. When he left, pockets of conversation broke out among the soldiers as they turned to each other.

"Guy knows how to give a eulogy, huh," Samson muttered, sadly.

"He's done it enough times," Edward retorted and Samson nodded, sadly.

Winry just concentrated on her drink, feeling the alcohol warm her stomach. Damn, she thought to herself. It probably wasn't the best idea to down a large glass of wine after three days of not eating. The room began to feel a little hazy around her and Winry put her empty glass down on the table next to her.

"E-excuse me," she murmured to Samson. "I need to use the ladies." She shifted away from the group, all the while feeling hot amber eyes on her back as she made her way across the room, leaving quietly and slipping down the corridor.

"Winry-" She tensed as Edward called her name, following her out of the mess hall. She frowned but continued moving towards the ladies.

"Leave me alone, Major," she called behind her, anxiously.

She reached the bathroom and pushed inside, moving to the mirror and opening her purse with shaking hands.

She was surprised when the door pushed open and Ed strode inside.

"Major-" she squawked in surprise as he strode towards her.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Ed exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

She frowned at him, the liquor in her gut making her brave.

"What the hell is wrong with _me_?!" She snarled at him and saw confusion twist his face. She turned away from him and reapplied her lipstick with hands that trembled with suppressed rage.

"Is this about what happened the other day-"

"Fuck you, Elric!" Winry yelled, whirling to face him. His face had gone slack, his eyes shocked. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing with me, blowing hot and cold all the time, but I'm not playing anymore, you got that?" His eyes were wide and almost frightened as she continued. "You must think I'm really stupid, huh, just falling into your bed like all the others… Jesus I make myself sick," she trailed off. She turned back to the mirror and saw him take a hesitant step towards her.

"Winry-" he said, his voice anguished. She ignored him, smacking her lips together.

She sighed and turned back to face him, taking a proper look at him for the first time in days. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot and red rimmed and he looked like he hadn't slept much. She felt guilt twist in her gut. Cristal's death was obviously taking its toll on him.

"Look, Major," she said, matter-of-factly. "You and I have this shared…history." She stared at a point on his chest, not willing to meet his eyes. "We may or may not at one point have even had feelings for each other. But the past needs to stay in the past. You obviously don't feel the same way about me as you once did… you made that pretty obvious when you took my virginity and pissed all over it. I can't just be your personal pick me up that you come to every time you need a lay." Ed's breath hissed between his teeth as though he had been punched, but she ignored him. "It's too damn hard, Ed. I need to get over you and you need to let me do it, by staying the hell away from me."

She turned and made to leave, but he caught her wrist in his iron grip and spun her into his chest.

"Winry-" he all but moaned her name and then his lips were on hers. But Winry was prepared for this. She clamped her lips together and turned her face away, still as a stone. He rested his forehead against her cheek. "Winry," he whispered and if she didn't know better she could have sworn that there were tears in his voice. "I've messed this up so badly Win-" he took a great shuddering breath. "I'm so sorry." She took pity on him and patted him on the shoulder awkwardly. "You deserve to be happy," he murmured against her cheek and she closed her eyes, repressing the feelings that he awoke in her.

And then he was gone; the warmth that had radiated from his body dissipated as he fled the bathroom.

Winry took a deep breath, steeling herself and took a step forwards.

She returned to the memorial service and was surprised to find Lukas chatting to a Brigadier General.

"Lukas, what are you doing here?" She questioned.

He was dressed in a dark suit and had a bottle of beer in his hand. He smiled at her softly, nodding goodbye to the officer next to him and turning to face her.

"The ward's empty," he murmured to her. "And I thought it was important to be here."

She smiled at him softly.

He led her to the bar and bought her a drink. She contemplated another glass of wine, but thought better of it, requesting an orange juice instead.

They chatted softly; talking about some of the patients that Lukas had been dealing with recently. Winry was saddened to hear that there had been a number of deaths on the ward recently due to a string of causalities during unplanned attacks on the fortress. She grazed Lukas' hand with her own and apologized to him for having to cope with that on his own. She understood how much it affected a doctor to be around so much death.

"I'm just glad to see you up and around," he murmured to her and Winry found that she liked his soft smile and the way he held her gaze. She found a blush creeping up her chest and she looked away.

"I think, maybe I'd like to get some air," she murmured.

"I'll escort you," Lukas offered her his arm gallantly and she took it with a shy smile.

They left the memorial and headed out to a small courtyard in the center of the fortress. It was heavily walled on all sides by the fortress itself and felt incredibly enclosed, but it was fresh air and Winry took a deep breath, wrapping her arms around herself against the chill air. She shivered against the cold and rubbed her arms.

She felt something settle over her shoulders as Lukas draped his jacket across her and she smiled at him, genuinely.

His eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight and Winry was overcome with the sensation that this was a good and honest man. She reached out a hand and brushed a snowflake from his mousey brown hair. It was starting to snow.

She inhaled, not realizing how close she had become to Lukas. She could smell his cologne; it had an unusual musk that she couldn't quite identify. She stepped back, quickly her cheeks blushing and Lukas grinned at her, shyly.

"I'm glad to see you up an about," he murmured to her as she rubbed her cold hands together.

"I feel better," she said and when she met his eyes she surprised herself by how truthful that response was. She was nowhere near 'fine', but she had reached a point where she didn't think things could get any worse, and she certainly wasn't going to allow them to. She _wanted_ things to be different and she _wanted_ to move forwards.

Lukas reached out a hand towards his cheek and Winry felt herself tense. Lukas saw this and dropped his hand, awkwardly.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. Damn, she was messed up; wanting to move forwards but unable to apparently.

His face softened. "It's fine. You know, I just want to see you smile."

She did smile then, a small smile, but a real one. "Thank you," she said. "There's...there's been a lot going on in my life...I just need a friend right now."

Lukas nodded, but couldn't hide the disappointment from his face. "It's ok... You know, more than anything I respect you." She smiled at him again. "If a friend is what you need, then a friend I shall be. Although..." Winry flushed at the intense look he gave her. "I can't help but admit that I would like to be more than a friend to you..." Winry felt her chest constrict. _How did she feel about that?_ She searched her feelings. _Pleased, nervous, apprehensive._ "But until you are ready for more from me, I will be the best friend to you that I can be."

She smiled and felt her eyes mist up. He was a great guy.

They wandered back into the building after a moment, Winry's hands starting to turn blue and her teeth chattering. Lukas slung one arm around her shoulder and drew her back towards the mess hall and vigourously rubbed her arms. They meandered around a corner and came upon Edward and Samson locked in some kind of heated debate. Winry frowned, she had never seen them argue before.

As they drew closer she heard fragmented snippets of their low conversation.

"-the hell were you thinking?" Samson was hissing and Winry was surprised by the vehemence in her voice.

"-wasn't supposed to go this far!" , "-never would have been an issue if-" Ed whispered back, but then his eyes flicked to where Lukas was drawing her down the corridor and he straightened. She saw his eyes lock on to where Lukas' arm was wrapped around her and the other Doctor's jacket draped around Winry's shoulders and his eyes narrowed to slits. Samson turned, her eyes widening in alarm and she looked to Ed, gripping his forearm in alarm. But Ed's eye just turned to Winry and she was surprised by the flow of emotions that she noticed there; pain, sadness, remorse, anger, worry, concern, resolve. But before she could begin to work him out he had turned on his heel and disappeared down the corridor, his dark ponytail flapping behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I know that a lot of people are desperate to know where this is going and considering that I won't be able to update on Thursday I have decided to be super nice and do a double update today. Chapter 9 does start to give a few hints at what might be going on, but all is not revealed yet... (FYI, Chapter 12 is the one that you're waiting for).**

 **Please do leave a comment for 8 and 9 if possible. Again, I really appreciate any constructive criticism - it helps to make the story better. So if you're taking the time to read, please take the additional 60 seconds it takes to leave a review and help to improve the story.**

 **CHAPTER 9**

Over the next few months Winry worked hard, but she started to take the time to develop her interests outside of the hospital wing. She spent some time down in the mechanical yard, sharing some of her knowledge of automail and it's functions. She joined a darts team that played on a Thursday night in the mess hall and developed quite a reputation as a skillful player.

Her relationship with Lukas, if you could call it that, began to blossom, slowly. It was difficult when they worked opposite shifts. But occasionally when they both were not too tired they would go for a quick drink and they would chat about their lives and their had not progressed beyond some flirting comments, but Lukas was thrilled to learn about Winry's past experience with automail, although she left out any reference to her best client.

She had seen no sign of Edward in three months. She heard him mentioned in conversation here and there; he had not been sent into battle as far as she was aware, since his last outing, but she was not going out of her way to find out what he was up to. On the contrary she had seen Samson virtually every day. For the first week or so after Cristal's memorial it seemed that every time Winry looked up Samson was in the hospital ward for one reason or another. At first the woman had seemed almost embarrassed about her presence and had seemed to find little excuses for a reason to be there; a headache, or a sore throat. But when Winry firmly explained that she didn't have time to deal with such trivialities Samson started bringing her coffee instead. The other woman explained that she liked Winry's company and she just wanted to hang out every now and again, which Winry did not mind at all.

She began to feel…happy. But in the back of her mind there was something missing, she just refused to acknowledge what that thing might be.

She stepped onto the ward that morning, pinning her hair up neatly on top of her head and swiped a cup of coffee from the tray at the nurses station. She inhaled the strong aroma and made her way quickly to start her rounds.

Two body bags lined the hallway by the exit and Winry gasped. Lukas was talking to the orderly there, the paperwork in his hand and a grim expression on his face. Layla wandered past behind them, a grim expression on her face.

"What happened?!" She gaped at Lukas, coming to a stop at his elbow and glancing at the paperwork in front of him. The two privates who had come in yesterday complaining of stomach flu were now lying in body bags and she was unsure how this had happened.

"There were some … unexpected complications," Lukas said, his mouth set in a grim line. "What we assumed was stomach flu actually turned out to be latent pancreatic encephalitis."

Winry frowned. "But, both of them…" She was utterly confused.

Lukas frowned. "No, no. That was just Private Olsen. Private Jennings suffered a trauma to the head when he stumbled out of bed." The other doctor sighed. "It was hours before we found him and by that point it was too late."

Winry frowned.

"Maybe I should inspect the bodies?" She suggested, making towards the body bags.

"No." Lukas gripped her arm, his eyes flashing for a moment, but the next second she thought she must have imagined it as he smiled at her calmly, his hand gentle at her wrist. "I don't want you upsetting yourself." He steered her towards her rounds, handing over the necessary charts and paperwork.

Winry's mind reeled. It had come to her attention slowly that they seemed to have a lot of fatalities on the ward. And often, as was the case today, the fatalities seemed to have little to do with the reason the patents came in. She frowned at that thought. They had had at least six fatalities per month for the last three months and she was surprised that Lukas had not picked up on this. Surely they needed to run some kind of report. Perhaps there was an infection?

Winry busied herself, her mind running through the possible scenarios to explain the unusual deaths that had occurred on the ward and before she knew it, her shift was ending.

Lukas surprised her as she was leaving for the evening.

"What are you doing back here?" She asked him. He was not due to work tonight. They both had an infrequent evening off.

"Did you forget?" He asked, a surprised look on his face.

She took in his formal attire. He was wearing a dinner suit, with a white scarf around his neck. His brown hair was slicked back from his face, smartly.

"Oh, shit!" She blurted out. She had completely forgotten that this evening was the night of the Serviceman's Ball; an annual event to celebrate the achievements of the servicemen enlisted at Fortress 53. "I am so sorry!" She gushed at him. "I can change, I will be really quick!" Lukas sighed and grabbed a clipboard as she backed towards her dorm.

"It's fine," he said with a gentle smile. "I can just make some rounds." She turned towards the back of the ward, worrying about what she was going to wear to such an event when he called her. "I had the liberty of having something sent up to your room, by the way." She frowned over her shoulder but made her way quickly to her room.

That something turned out to be a dress. Not just any dress. It turned out to be one of the most stunning dresses that Winry had ever seen. She was not much for fashion, but she knew that she liked this dress as soon as she saw it. It was full length, made of navy blue velvet and lace with capped sleeves and lace paneling from the knee. It was simply stunning and Winry did not want to think about how much it must have cost Lukas.

She showered quickly and applied some make up, leaving her hair to fall around her shoulders in soft waves. The dress fit like a glove when she pulled it on and she wondered idly how Lukas had sized her up so well. She blushed at the thought and turned to look at herself in the mirror.

Her breath caught in her throat. She looked… well…. She certainly didn't look like a little girl anymore, that was for sure.

Winry slipped out of the door, grabbing her purse and met Lukas at the entrance to the hospital wing. The nurse on duty, Hannah, whistled provocatively and Lukas' eyes snapped up to greet her. His mouth dropped open and her gazed at her wonderingly.

"Winry," he breathed and smiled. "You look stunning."

Winry felt a blush heat her cheeks.

"You two have fun now," Hannah called as Lukas took her hand, folding it into the crook of his arm and led her out of the hospital wing.

They walked to the ball in comparative silence. Winry was wondering what to expect when they entered the mess hall and when they arrived she was shocked to find the room decorated like she had never seen it before. The metal benches had been removed and round tables littered the room, complete with white tablecloths and fancy centerpieces. Gleaming cutlery laid each table and the room was festooned with servicemen and women in dress uniform, many of the gentlemen with hats under their arms. The air was thick with laughter and frivolity and Winry felt a smile turn up at the corners of her mouth.

They wandered to the bar and Lukas ordered them both a glass of champagne. They touched glasses with an elegant chink and each took a sip.

"This is wonderful," Winry murmured, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes, it's quite something isn't it," Lukas replied, gazing at Winry. "We should find our seats," he told her when she blushed and looked away. "Dinner will be served shortly."

He led her across the room to a large seating chart and they searched for their names.

"There," she pointed to where she spotted her name and her heart thumped loudly in her chest.

"Ah," Lukas said, with a strange expression. "I see they have sat us with Major Elric and his team."

Winry felt like she had forgotten how to breathe. Yes, she had spent the last three months moving on with her life; trying her best to forget about Ed. But that had been easy, as she had had absolutely no contact with him since the memorial service for 2nd Lieutenant Cristal. But faced with the prospect of making small talk in his presence for an evening and suddenly Winry was not feeling so confident. Lukas was looking at her strangely and she plastered a smile on her face, taking his hand and leading him back across the room to their table.

She found the table quickly and her breath quickened when she saw that they were the last to arrive. She was pleased to note, however, that she was sat next to First Lieutenant Samson. The other woman leapt up when she saw Winry and pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug.

"Doc!" The Frist Lieutenant exclaimed. "It's been way too long!"

Winry pulled back and smiled at the other woman. "Faye, I saw you yesterday!" She laughed.

Samson smiled and shook Lukas' hand and turned to introduce him to the rest of the table. Winry smiled at the others as Lukas was introduced to the team. Bulger and Phillips were there, recovered from their recent injury - although Winry noticed that Bulger still had his crutches perched against the table - along with two Captains that Winry had not met, who had apparently been recently assigned to the team. Their names were Dale and Smithson and they nodded at her curtly. She smiled at the two stern faced young men politely.

"And of course, you know the Major," Samson said, her eyes flicking to Winry, hesitantly.

Winry had been avoiding looking at this particular member of the table, but she found she could no longer do so politely as Ed, pushed his chair back, standing beside Samson, quietly.

He looked….good. Her heart thudded painfully and Winry bit her lip, nervously. Ed's raven hair was pulled back in a ponytail; the way that she had always liked it, part of her brain mused. And he was dressed in black dress uniform that hugged his muscular figure, reminding her of his days of running around with Al.

She could feel his eyes on her, but she concentrated on a point just past him shoulder.

"Major," Lukas murmured and Winry couldn't help but notice the edge that his voice had taken on.

"Doctor Jackson," Ed said and Winry started at his frosty tone. Samson looked downright tense and pulled at the collar of her dress shirt.

"Oh, look, it looks like they're serving food!" She said loudly, ushering Winry into her seat. Lukas held the chair back for her and she thanked him quietly.

They sat in an awkward silence for a little while and there seemed to be some unspoken communication going on across the table and Winry fiddled with her earrings, nervously. Lukas took her fidgeting hand in his own and lowered it softly to the table and Winry smiled at him, soothed by the small, reassuring contact.

She felt eyes on her and turned to see Ed glaring at where Lukas' thumb was rubbing circles across the back of her hand and Winry shuddered.

"So, Doctor Winry!" Samson cleared her throat and Winry looked away from Ed as his eyes flicked up to hers. "What's new in med bay?"

Winry cleared her throat, picking up her champagne with a shrug. Around them the buzz of chatter rang out.

"Not much, I guess, " she murmured before taking a sip. She frowned, something niggling her memory from earlier in the day. "Well, actually, I had a bit of an epiphany earlier I guess," Samson looked curious and she put her glass down.

A server came around to the table handing out bread roll and she took, one thanking the young woman, softly.

"I suddenly had this realization," Winry said, buttering her bread roll, carefully, "that we seem to have a lot of fatalities on the hospital ward." There was a pause and Winry put her butter knife down, her mind running over the list of fatalities since she had started at 53. This month alone there had been a young woman, who had been injured on active duty, she had died from complications after Winry had amputated her lower leg. Then there had been another the following week, an older soldier suffering with a bullet wound to the abdomen. He had been holding steady with signs of improvement but when Winry had returned the next morning he had been dead. Then there had been three or four more complaining of various ailments, none of which should have seen them in body bags. Add those to the two that had died this morning and Winry was starting to get seriously concerned.

She glanced up and noticed that the atmosphere around the table had become somewhat tense. Samson's jaw was clenched, tersely and Phillips was shooting furtive glances towards the Major who himself seemed to be gripping his own knife in clenched fingers.

Winry glanced to her left, confused and Lukas smiled at her. It was a strained smile and it didn't quite meet his eyes.

"Winry," he said, seemingly calmly, but she could sense tension under the surface of his voice. "This is your first ward rotation, so perhaps you are unaware of just how much we Doctors deal with death." Winry frowned at him. "Add that to the fact that we are smack bang in the middle of a war zone and of course we are going to see a higher number of fatalities than some of the hospitals that you might have trained in, back in Central."

"Yes, but, Lukas," she said, tensely, upset that he was dismissing her claims so easily. "All of the fatalities that have occurred so far, on the ward, seem to have taken place in patients that were showing signs of improvement-"

"Nonsense," Lukas scoffed and Winry felt irritation tug at her. "Winry, my dear," he took her hand in his own and she saw Ed bristle out of the corner of her eye. "It will take you time to get used to the way things work around here."

"Oh, I think she's got a good measure of the way things are already," she heard Ed say, frigidly and she turned to look at him. He was glaring at Lukas with ill-disguised contempt. She gaped at him, bleakly, glad that someone seemed to acknowledge what she was saying without dismissing it, entirely, but confused by his anger.

"And how would you know what Winry has the measure of?" Lukas retorted, bitterly.

Samson placed a calming hand on Ed's forearm as he twitched in anger and Winry felt something stir in the pit of her stomach at that contact.

"Doctor Rockbell," Ed said, turning his eyes towards her. "Perhaps the General should be informed of your findings. After all, if there is some kind of _reason_ for these fatalities, then perhaps we should be investigating its cause."

She nodded, but felt both Samson and Lukas tense beside her and saw Bulger's mouth pop open across the table. She frowned at that and had the sensation that on some level she did not quite understand what they were talking about.

"If you'll excuse me," Lukas muttered, shoving his chair backwards and standing up abruptly. Winry started at his sudden departure and watched him walk away across the crowded room. She noticed suddenly how the room was filled with the sounds of laughter and gentle chatter. She turned back to her own table to find them shooting furtive glances at each other, a tense silence filling the air.

"Listen, Winry-" Ed started, tensely.

She turned to look at him, confused, but at that moment their meals arrived. He closed his mouth with a click as the waiters set plates down in front of them, seemingly aggravated by the set of circumstances and Winry found that her head was pounding trying to work out just what in the hell was going on.

They started their meals and Winry was glad when Phillips started up a conversation with Samson about some sports game or other, but she wasn't really listening. She picked at her food, her head still pounding, sharply. Lukas still hadn't returned and she was starting to grow concerned when a waiter approached her.

"Excuse me, Doctor Rockbell?" The young woman asked, flushing in embarrassment.

"Yes?" Winry looked up, in surprise.

"Doctor Jackson wanted me to tell you that he's had to go back to the ward. Apparently he has a patient, although, he said that it wasn't anything for you to worry about. He said you should stay and finish the evening and that he would call on you later." The girl relayed the information as though she had been trying desperately to remember it and she smiled in relief as she got to the end of her message.

"Oh, thank you," Winry mumbled. Brilliant. She didn't notice the gazes that were exchanged around the table; too caught up in thinking about the evening's events. She had expected people to be curious about her findings, not angry and certainly not resentful. She shook her head. Perhaps it was just all in her mind; after all she had never worked in a combat serving hospital unit. Perhaps this was normal, and in actual fact she had insulted Lukas' work. She frowned at that thought. It would certainly explain his cold attitude to her thoughts.

"I think I'll go fetch a drink," she heard Samson declare, arbitrarily, after a little time and Winry blinked to herself, coming out of her daydream. Nearly everyone at the table had left and she noticed that people were milling around between the tables, chatting and socializing. A number of people had taken to the dance floor and the lights had been lowered a little, creating a cozier atmosphere. Soft music was playing through large speakers, dotted around the room. Samson got up to leave and Winry realized with a jolt that Ed was sliding into her vacant chair.

"I need to talk to you," Ed said urgently, his voice low.

"Ed, we've said all that there is to say," Winry sighed. She really didn't want to do this again.

Ed frowned, confused.

"What?" He flushed. "No, this is important and it doesn't have anything to do with…us," he muttered, casting a critical eye around him, nervously.

"Oh, well, what is it?" She turned to face him, curiously, ignoring the flutter that arose in her chest when said the word 'us'.

"Not here," Ed said, impatiently. "It's too dangerous." He ran a hand through his dark hair, an old gesture that he used when he was stressed, she noted. "I didn't want to do this so soon, but it seems I have no choice."

"Ed, what are you babbling about," she murmured.

"Come with me," he gripped her hand softly, tugging her to her feet and Winry felt the electric current that ran up her spine at the contact. He pulled her through the throes of people towards the dance floor and she dug her heels in.

"Ed, what?"

"Just…trust me, ok?" He said, honestly.

She frowned at him. That was easier said than done, given recent events, but she let him pull her onto the dance floor and into his arms. She stood, stiffly as his arms came around her and willed her body not to respond to his hands on her.

"Win-" he started as they began to sway to the music. His mouth brushed the shell of her ear, close as he was, and she shuddered. "There's something going on here that I need you to be aware of."

Winry frowned but let him continue.

"I've tried my best to keep you out of this, honest to God, I couldn't have done much more, other than throw you on a train out of here. In fact, maybe that's what I should have done in the first place, it would have saved so much hassle," he was babbling and Winry fidgeted.

"Edward-"

"Sorry," he muttered, darkly and sighed. They moved slowly in time to the music for a little while and she was just about to tell him to spit out whatever he needed to say when his mouth brush her ear again.

"You're not wrong about the fatalities on the ward," Ed said and Winry's breath hissed through her teeth. She knew it! "It's something that has been going on for nearly the best part of the last year."

"But why-" Winry started, resting her head on Ed's shoulder under the pretense of hugging him close. She got the sense that this needed to stay between them.

"We suspect there's foul play involved," Ed muttered and Winry's head whipped up, gazing at Ed's serious eyes.

"Excuse me, Major Elric," a waiter tapped him on the shoulder nervously and Ed separated from her quickly, holding her at arms length.

"What is it?" He frowned.

"First Lieutenant Samson gave me a message for you," the waiter looked at them both in a bored manner.

"What is it?" Ed asked, a frown on his face.

"I am to tell you that there is a problem upstairs in the hospital wing and that she thinks she has found what you were looking for."

Ed's eyes flashed and the waiter turned to leave, making his way through the now dense crowd of dancing bodies.

"What's going on?" Winry said breathlessly, noticing the triumphant glint in Ed's eye. "Ed, I am so confused right now."

"Winry, stay here!" He said, gripping her by the upper arms. "I'll be back in a little while and I will explain everything, properly, I promise."

She nodded and he dashed away from her, his dark ponytail flying behind him. She felt the heat from his arms dissolve and she stepped back with a sigh. She was going to have to wait to get some answers, it seemed.

She made her way towards the bar, but thought better of it. What she needed was some fresh air. She made her way out of the bustling party and through the nearly deserted corridors. She would just get some fresh air and clear her head a little before Ed came back and cleared up this whole mess.

 _Foul Play_

The thought made her shudder and she wondered who would be capable of doing such a thing without her or Lukas knowing about it.

She made her way to the small courtyard in the centre of the fortress, rubbing her aching temples as she stepped into the frigid air. She took a long shuddering breath, stepping away from the door, towards the small sapling in the center of the courtyard. She shivered against the freezing night air, feeling gooseflesh rise on her arms and she rubbed them gently.

She heard the door click open behind her and she turned slowly to see who had followed her, but a cloth was pressed under her nose firmly; a strong hand gripping her mouth closed, holding the scream that bubbled on her lips. Her eyelids drooped and she vaguely realized that the cloth was soaked in a foul smelling liquid that stung her nostrils. Her world faded to black and she collapsed into waiting arms.


	10. Interlude

**Authors Note:**

I wanted to post something this evening as, despite my 18 hour working day and not really wanting to post chapter 10 without giving it a few more once overs, I wanted to post something.

Firstly, I wanted to share my playlist that I listened to religiously whilst writing this. There is, as you would imagine, quite a lot of angst in there, but it might be fun for you guys to listen while reading, might get you to where I was when writing.

Evanescence - Hello

Evanescence - October

Evanescence - You

Sia - Big girls cry

Sia - Elastic Heart

Rihanna - Stay

Labrinth - Jealous

Callum Scott - Dancing on my own

A Great Big World - Say something (I'm giving up on you)

John Legend - All of Me

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Sarah McLachlan - Elsewhere

Sarah McLachlan - Fear

Sarah McLachlan - Ice

Sarah McLachlan - Possession

Sarah McLachlan - Good Enough

Sarah McLachlan - Hold On

Sarah McLachlan - Do what you have to do

James Blunt - Goodbye my Lover

Damien Rice - Canonball

Damien Rice - 9 Crimes

Bruno Mars - Just the way you are

Secondly I wanted to say that I spent hours writing this. Literal hours of my life, sat at my Mac, writing. I've posted my writing online because I wanted to get feedback on it. I'm a bit saddened that it is getting so few responses as I know that people ate taking the time to read, I can see the stats. Please. If you want me to continue with this story then take the time to leave a comment. Even if it's just a couple of words. Tell me if you love it. Tell me if you hate it! Is it unrealistic? Is it not descriptive enough? Is it toe-curling angsty? Does it make you want smack Ed and Winry's heads together because he's such an idiot and she's such a doormat?! Whatever it is that it makes you think, please, comment at the end? I genuinely want the feedback. I can handle criticism, in fact I'd actually like to hear it. I would like to get better with my writing and therefore your comments will help! Seriously folks, as a writer it is so disheartening just to get no feedback - more disheartening than having lots of negative comments. It makes you not really want to continue writing. So I hope that if you are enjoying this story and would like to see it continue, you will review.

Thanks.


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Thank you to all those who have reviewed. Your comments are really helpful. We are hurtling towards the conclusion to ASitT now, only another 3 chapters plus epilogue after this. There are some reveals in this chapter but not all of the answers you are looking for.**

 **CHAPTER 10**

Winry awoke in a cold puddle and gasped at the feel of it seeping through her dress. She shuddered and sat up slowly, her head fuzzy and felt something tug against her wrists. She glanced down, observing dimly that she was handcuffed to a large pipe in the wall that was oozing some kind of fluid. She glanced around, briefly. The room she was in was dark and dank, smelling of mold and decay and she frowned. It wasn't a space that she recognized; the walls and floor were concrete and were covered in rising damp. Murky puddles covered the floor and steam escaped from a vent on the wall opposite. The ceiling was fairly low and Winry wondered whether she was still inside the fortress.

She yanked on her handcuffs, the metal biting into her skin as she desperately tried to pull herself free. She gave up with a moan of frustration and heaved herself against the wall, letting her head fall back against the concrete in despair. Just how it hell had she gotten herself into this mess? The last thing she remembered was going out to the courtyard to get some air. Then...

"Oh, don't give up now!" A mocking voice called and Winry stiffened, her eyes snapping open as she peered into the gloom.

A figure emerged and Winry gasped, her mouth falling open in horror.

"Layla?!" She asked, incredulously as the young healthcare assistant wandered towards her, a deranged smirk on her face. In her hand she carried a scalpel and Winry almost forgot how to breathe.

"What's the matter, Doctor Rockbell?" Layla's high-pitched voice called, mockingly. "I thought you had it all figured out."

"Believe me," Winry said, her voice shaking, "I don't have a fucking clue what's going on right now!"

Layla chortled, drawing closer until she was standing just in front of Winry. She tilted her head to one side, like a wild animal, staring at Winry through slitted eyes.

"I can't work out what he ever saw in you," she muttered, more to herself than to Winry and Winry frowned.

"You're crazy..." Winry blurted before she could stop herself and Layla's eyes snapped wide, her nostrils flaring in anger. She kicked Winry in the ribs, hard, winding the blonde woman and Winry saw stars as she doubled over, desperately trying to suck the air into her bruised lungs. She felt a hand slip into her hair and then her head was yanked back harshly, causing Winry to cry out in pain, as Layla crouched down beside her.

"What if I slit your pretty little throat?" She asked Winry, a maniacal glint in her eye and she held the tip of the blade up in front of Winry's face. Winry struggled to draw breath, her eyes wide, watching the blade with horror filled eyes.

"How about I carve you up a little bit?" Layla mused, out loud. "That would be ok, wouldn't it? Yes," she answered her own question. "Not allowed to kill you, but I can carve you up so you're not so pretty. He won't want you so much when you're all red and bloody!"

Winry whimpered as Layla dragged the tip of the scalpel to her cheek, pressing it gently against her skin. She felt the tip pierce her flesh and she bit her lip in pain, feeling blood drip down her neck as Layla drew the blade across her cheek, seemingly mesmerized by the mark she was leaving.

"Layla, no!" A deep voice rang out across the room and the young woman whirled, stepping away from Winry and holding the scalpel behind her back as though she was hiding it. Winry could only sit and pant, her head feeling dizzy.

"I wasn't doing anything! Honest!" Layla called, contritely and Winry peered into the darkness beyond her. She saw the figure of a man coming towards her and her eyes went wide, her heart bursting with joy.

"Lukas!" She sobbed joyfully. She had never been so pleased to see him. "She's got a scalpel. I think there's something wrong with her, be careful!" She called desperately, as Doctor Jackson walked towards the pair cautiously. He stopped a few feet away from them and surveyed the scene, a muscle in his jaw flicking tensely.

"Winry, are you ok?" He asked tersely.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "But seriously, she'd got a scalpel and I don't know what she's planning to do with it-"

"Is that true Layla?" Lukas turned a stony gaze on the red headed woman standing above Winry.

"No…?" Layla said, looking at her shoes.

"Layla!" Lukas barked and Winry jumped.

"Ok fine, but I didn't really do anything to her, just cut her face. I wasn't going to kill her or anything, I swear," Layla wailed, pathetically. "I wouldn't do that, not after you told me not to and all."

Winry froze, turning her eyes back to Lukas who was nodding placatingly. He stepped towards the petite woman.

"Give me the scalpel," he said firmly and she held it out to him. "Good girl," he murmured and pulled her into an embrace, tilting her face up and kissing her softly.

"What the fuck?" Winry gasped, dazed beyond measure. The two ignored her, merely gazing into each others' eyes for a few moments.

Lukas sighed. "So…what are we to do about our situation now, my angel?" he asked Layla.

"We need to kill her." The redhead said, viciously. "Let me do it, please!"

Lukas sighed and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Well, I fear it will have to come to that, my love. But she knows too much and her death will draw further suspicion unless it is handled correctly."

Winry watched the scene unfold with growing horror. So Lukas was involved with Layla and they were both as insane as each other, apparently.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, shakily, interrupting their scheming.

"Because you couldn't keep your stupid theories to yourself!" Lukas snapped, his eyes flashing to hers and she was shocked by the anger she saw there.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, confused. A light bulb flickered in her mind's eye. "Is this about the deaths on the ward?" she asked incredulously.

"Winry…" he sighed. "You just couldn't turn a blind eye could you? You had to poke your nose in where it wasn't wanted." He turned his back on the women, resting his hands on his hips.

"I thought if I could distract you enough, it might make you a little less receptive to what was going on," he scoffed to himself. "It seemed for a while that your _boyfriend_ was doing a good enough job of keeping you mind elsewhere. But when he disappeared off the scene I had to give you something to focus on other than work. I didn't need you poking your nose into our business."

"But…" Winry stuttered, "Why would you be killing off soldiers? Are you a secret part of the rebellion or something?"

Layla laughed, a cold, high-pitched cackle.

"Not quite, no," Lukas turned to face her, his face was cold and calculating and there was a maniacal gleam in his eye. "We are those loyal to the cause! We will be victorious in returning this once great empire to its former glory!"

Winry just gaped at him.

"You're kidding?' She said after a minute. "You're some kind of fanatical nut job?" She regretted it immediately when his eyes darkened, madly, and he strode towards her slapping her sharply across the face with a crack. She felt her lip split and she tasted blood; her neck snapped back and she saw spots dancing in her vision.

"Insolent brat!" Lukas screeched. "This world will be ours for the taking and we will rid it of traitors such as you and those blasted Elric imps!" He snarled. Winry noted that somehow, Ed and Al had something to do with this.

"So, just what have you been doing with the bodies?" She wheezed. She had to keep him talking; she had to get as much information out of him as she possibly could; she needed to work out what was going on and try to buy herself some more time while she worked out how she was going to get herself out of this one.

"Ah…" Lukas grinned, his personality switching quickly, hinting at his instability. He wandered over to where Layla stood, watching him reverently and kissed her deeply, pulling back to grin at her. "Yes… the bodies. A great triumph… Layla here helped me… She really is excellent with alchemy, you know."

 _Alchemy!_

"You performed human transmutation?!" Winry gasped.

"Philosopher's stone!" Layla cackled, barely able to contain her glee and Winry felt bile rise in her throat as she began to piece together just what the hell had been going on. The redheaded woman pulled a red stone from her pocket and Winry gulped.

"So, those soldiers…" Winry felt her hands shaking in their cuffs, rattling against the pipe loudly, "they weren't dead at all… you just… forged the paperwork..." Lukas turned to face her, a smug grin on his face. "But, surely you didn't have enough souls to make a Philosopher's Stone?" Winry asked, confused."I always though that you needed a lot of people."

"Winry..." Lukas stared at her as though she were stupid. "We have been planning this for a very long time. Those taken from the hospital wing were but a few. Yes… it was easy to do with Layla's help. Even when questions began to get asked… we made sure we were extra careful. No-one suspected for the longest time." He scowled. "That is until you ruined everything!" His hands shook for a minute before he seemed to get himself under control. "But… we shall remedy that tonight." He murmured and Winry felt her blood run cold.

"What are you going to do?" Winry asked as Lukas nodded at Layla who strode towards her viciously, unlocking her handcuffs and pulling her to her feet, roughly. Winry struggled against her, but the redhead was surprisingly strong for one so petite.

"Winry… dear Winry," Lukas had moved into the centre of the room and as Layla dragged her towards him, Winry could make out that he was stood in the middle of a transmutation circle. Her eyes widened and she struggled against Layla's grasp but the other woman just hung onto her tightly, her nails pinching in to Winry's skin. "You are going to help us make our final transmutation tonight…" He bent down and unwrapped a small parcel at his feet and Winry's eye widened as she noticed the skull and bones that he uncovered. "You're going to help us to raise the dead!"

Winry felt light headed and she stumbled a little as Layla threw her into the centre of the circle. She hit the floor with a thud and felt her skull reverberate as it smacked the concrete with e dull thud. For the longest moment she wasn't able to form coherent thought, simply feeling the throbbing in her forehead. She felt wetness trickle down her face as she came back to herself; a sticky sensation at her eyebrow. And she swiped a hand across her face, noticing with a strange detached sensation that her hand was stained with thick red blood.

"Jackson!" A voice called across the cavernous room and Winry could have whooped for joy as she saw Ed and Samson making their way into the room, their weapons raised. "Let her go." Ed called, his voice cold.

Ed's face was pinched tightly and there was a snarl on his lips that Winry could not remember seeing in all the years of knowing him. He was more angry than she had ever seen him and his eyes flashed, lethally. With his weapon raised he looked ready to kill. He took one glance at her, taking in her split lip and cracked skull and his face took on a deadly expression. His eyes flicked to Jackson who had whirled at the sound of the voice and was shaking in suppressed rage.

"Winry," Samson called, her eyes on Layla who had dropped to a defensive crouch, behind Winry. "Are you ok?"

"I-I'm fine," the blonde called back, her voice shaking.

"No!" Jackson screeched, stepping towards them menacingly. "I will not let you take this from me!" Spittle flew from his lips as he yelled and his eyes were round and wide.

"Give it up, Doc," Samson called, her eyes flicking to where Jackson had advanced on them, her weapon, like Ed's, followed Jackson's movements. That must have been just what he wanted, Winry thought afterwards, as Layla took that moment to pull the gun from the waistband of her pants where it had been concealed and, stepping around Winry, she brought it up in front of her. Winry screamed, but it was already too late.

With a yell, Layla unloaded the gun twice and Winry threw herself at the woman, knocking the gun from her hand before she had a chance to shoot again. She was vaguely aware of another gun being discharged nearby but she was too focused on Layla who rounded on her venomously, lunging for where the gun had fallen to the floor. Winry kicked it away and brought her fist up with as much force as she could, catching Layla in the chin with a repulsive crack. The other woman's neck snapped back and her eyes rolled in her head as she twisted and fell to the floor, unconscious.

Winry breathed for a moment, heavily; adrenaline coursed through her veins. When it seemed that Layla was out for the count Winry turned to take in the scene around her. Layla's gun lay out of sight on the far side of the room, she noted, thankfully. Jackson was lying in a pool of his own blood in the centre of the transmutation circle, a terrible smile on his face and his eyes open and glazed. To his left Samson was crouched over Ed, who lay still on the floor.

Winry forgot how to breathe.


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: This is a short chapter because this sequence just really didn't fit either side. Chapter 12 is already a very long chapter and 10 just didn't have the same drama with this tagged on the end. Please let me know your thoughts.**

 **CHAPTER 11**

"Edward!" She screamed.

She ran to them, her legs like lead. As she got close she realized with horror that Ed's blood was pooling on the floor around him. His eyes were closed, and he was pale but he was breathing

Her body felt like it was moving through molasses and she couldn't get her legs to move quickly enough. She reached him, where he lay, his mouth slack and the bullet wound in his abdomen bleeding heavily. Samson was pressing down on the wound firmly and Winry was vaguely aware that the First Lieutenant was yelling, but she needed to think.

"Shut up a minute!" She bellowed, harshly at the other woman, who took a great shuddering breath and looked at Winry with baleful eyes. She took a deep breath, steeling her shattered feelings away behind her doctor's persona and checked his pulse. It was thready and his breathing was labored. She pressed heavily on his stomach and was satisfied when it brought a groan of pain from his lips. Still in there somewhere, she thought to herself.

She had no medical supplies; nothing to stop the bleeding and Samson's hands were soaked in his blood. She cast her eyes around for something to use, coming up short before realizing that she would have to make do with what she had on her person. She grabbed a handful of the lacy material of her dress and ripped it right up to her thighs, pulling the material away with a deep tearing sound.

"Move," she said calmly, yet urgently, to Samson, who stepped back slowly. "I need you to go and get a gurney as quickly as you can. He needs surgery ASAP and he will die if we don't get him upstairs in the next 15 minutes." She began to press fabric onto Ed's wound, pressing down, hard.

"But the Doc…" Samson started and Winry rounded on her.

"Did you not hear me?" She all but screamed at her friend. "He. Will. Die! 15 minutes."

Samson scuttled to her feet, running from the room with barely a backwards glance as Winry continued to press the fabric of her dress to Ed's stomach. She took a length of the material and passed it around his back, rolling him slightly onto it and tied it above the wound, as tightly as she could.

"Don't you dare die on me, you bastard!" She muttered at him, finding the anger helped her to focus.

She waited for Samson to return for what felt like hours, but in actual fact was only a couple of minutes. She returned with a gurney, two soldiers and Hannah in tow. Winry could have wept at the sight of the nurse who was carrying an IV kit and gauze. She was wearing her pyjamas and her hair had been hastily thrown up in a messy bun.

Her eyes widened when she took in the scene before her; Doctor Jackson dead, Layla unconscious and Edward bleeding all over Winry. Winry just looked at Hannah and it was enough to spring the nurse into action. Inserting the IV into Ed's arm quickly, she held the drip up as Ed was rolled onto the Gurney, the two soldiers lifting him quickly. Winry shoved the wad of gauze over the top of the remnants of her ruined dress that was soaking through with blood and they left the room, quickly, leaving Samson behind to deal with the aftermath, watching them go, her face streaked with Ed's blood.

Winry did not remember the trip up to the hospital ward. She barely registered where they had been, only that it in the basement somewhere, not too far from the courtyard where she had been attacked. It was lucky as it meant they didn't have too far to go to get back to the hospital wing.

Ed's breathing was desperately shallow and Winry noticed with a frown that he had lost way too much blood to be safe. He would need a transfusion and quickly.

They made it to the hospital wing and Winry yelled to Hannah to get 8 bags of 0-neg blood, while she gestured to the soldiers to set Ed down in bay 3, the closest to them. She didn't dare take pressure off his wound, but when Hannah returned at a run, with the blood she told the nurse to take over. Hannah did so; her face was pale and scared.

"What are you going to do?" she whispered as Winry turned.

"He needs surgery," Winry replied, confidently. "I need to remove the bullet and repair the damage then stitch the wound." She repeated the task as though she were reciting her medical textbooks from training and Hannah gasped.

"But…you've never done that on your own have you?" She asked.

Winry didn't reply, simply making her way to the wash station. They didn't have a full operating theater in the hospital ward, just the equipment to do on site trauma surgery. Winry grabbed everything that she needed and carted it back to where Hannah was practically sitting on Ed's stomach, blood soaking into her pyjamas.

"Winry…you need to hurry," she said. "His pulse is slowing…"

Winry ran back to the wash station and scrubbed her hands under the hot spray as quickly as she could. She knew she was supposed to do it for five minutes, but there wasn't time. She dried her hands and grabbed a surgical mask, shoving a plastic trauma apron over her ruined dress. She shoved her hands into two pairs of surgical gloves and ran back to where Hannah waited. She took a deep breath and stepped up to the mark.


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I wasn't going to post this tonight, but considering that I've now completed ASitT I will try to get the final few chapters out ASAP. I'm currently working on a new story called Dependence, so if you enjoy my writing pop over and have a look at Chapter 1. But anyway, here we are... Finally the chapter that many of you have been waiting for. But it's not quite the end... There's still some unknowns and some big decisions to be made.**

 **CHAPTER 12**

Winry sat huddled in the chair in the corner of bay 3, watching the rise and fall of Ed's chest. It was closing on 7am and the darkness was beginning to melt a little. She sat with her knees drawn up underneath herself and her chin resting on one knee. She was still in the ruined party dress from the night before, slashed at the thigh and covered in dirt and grime. Her dirty feet were bare from where she had kicked off her shoes during Ed's surgery, telling Hannah brashly to take them away.

It had been touch and go for a while. Ed's heart had stopped three times before Winry haid found the bullet, tossing the tiny fragment aside. Each time she'd had Hannah give CPR, refusing to stop working. It was curious that one small piece of metal could cause so much damage and pain, when other metal protected him and held him together. Winry had set to work on repairing his spleen, telling Hannah tersely when she needed more suction or wadding, the other girl acknowledging her requests silently.

Winry would have found her situation unnerving if she hadn't been so God-damned terrified already. It was a given that she had passed her accelerated medical courses, but she was still supposed to be working under the direction of a mentor, if not directly, then with their input. Given that her mentor was lying in a body bag after trying to kill her, Winry now found herself truly alone on a ward for the first time, without any guidance. And with a serious abdominal surgery on her oldest childhood friend, it was not something she ever wanted to repeat.

She watched the rise and fall of his chest, anxiously. She was convinced that if she drew her eyes away even for a moment then he would stop breathing. Yeah, just like Ed to be spiteful, she thought to herself and nearly moaned at the memories it conjured. Remembrances of traded insults and little jibes floated through her mind. _Gear Head, Uncute, Metal Head…._ He used to call her.

She shook her head, not taking her eyes from where his chest continued to rise and fall, slowly. His face, so pale against the dark braid that rested against his neck, looked calm and peaceful and Winry resisted the urge to just get up and crawl into the bed next to him, scared that if she moved it might break the spell.

Her head, now bandaged firmly thanks to Hannah, was throbbing painfully and Winryrubbed her temples absentmindedly. She heard footsteps in the hallway, but she refused to look up, keeping her eyes firmly on Ed's chest; breathing in, and out. The footsteps approached and she could see figures stop at the end of the bed from the corner of her eye.

"Doctor Rockbell?" she recognized General Wilson's calm voice, but she still could not look away from Ed.

"What can I do for you General," she asked, her voice, hoarse and croaky from screaming orders, sounded maniacal even to her own ears and she could only imagine the picture she painted. All she needed to do was start rocking backwards and forwards and she was pretty sure she'd find herself strapped to her own gurney.

"Winry," Samson was there then, she stepped around the other side of the bed, crouching down in front of Edward into Winry's line of sight and the blonde finally allowed her eyes to dart quickly across to the other woman, but only briefly before they shot back to Ed. Breathing in and out. She sighed, relieved, and met Samson's gaze once more. The First Lieutenant looked weary, her face was creased and her hair, usually so neat, was frizzing at her temples.

"Winry," she began again softly and Winry frowned at her tone of voice. She sounded like she was trying to calm a wild animal. "The General has bought Doctor Robbins in from Central."

Winry felt her breath hitch. Doctor Robbins was a well-known trauma surgeon and had been one of Winry's first teachers in Central. She was highly regarded as one of the top trauma surgeons in Amestris and was also renowned for sticking rigidly to the rules. Winry could only assume that she would be facing losing her license for performing a surgery without the express consent of a senior doctor.

She let her eyes slide towards where the General stood with the greying, shorthaired woman. Winry noticed how Robbins' mouth was downturned and a frown marred her face. She turned away, her eyes sliding back to Ed. She didn't care. She wouldn't have done anything differently, given another chance.

"Doctor Rockbell," Robbins said, stepping forwards when Winry failed to acknowledge her. "I understand your situation. You have found yourself without a senior Doctor, without a mentor, and have found yourself with a complex trauma case." The woman paused and Winry grit her teeth, wishing she would just get on with it. "This is a tricky case indeed…" The other woman trailed off and Winry heard her sigh and pick up Ed's medical chart from the table at the end of the bed, flicking through it briefly. Winry had updated the chart every 30 minutes for the last 4 hours, refusing to let Hannah do it, and she wondered what Robbins would make of her detailed notes.

Ed was breathing softly and she found herself suddenly very tired. She wanted to crawl underneath the blankets with him and just sleep, resting her head against his chest.

"Well," Robbins said quietly, shutting the chart with a click. "I must say Doctor Rockbell, I think you may have saved this young man's life." Winry's eyes flicked to where Robbins stood with a small smile playing on her lips. "It is quite an unconventional situation that you found yourself in, but I think you did exactly the right thing and I commend you for the energies that you have put in to saving Major Elric." Behind Robbins the General was smiling softly.

"Now, if I might ask you to move aside and let me take over from here," Robbins said, stepping around the side of the bed, moving Samson aside and taking out her stethoscope. "I think that your shift has just ended and I will take over form here." Winry blinked. "And if I might also say, perhaps a shower and a change of clothes might be in order," Robbins gestured to Winry's current state of undress and Winry flushed, about to explain that she didn't want to leave, when the General interrupted her softly.

"An excellent idea, Doctor Robbins. I need to take Doctor Rockbell downstairs and debrief her fully regarding this unpleasant incident." Winry frowned. She really did not want to be away from Ed, but the General's chin was set firmly and there would be no arguing with him.

Winry sighed and uncurled from her position on the chair, her muscles aching plentifully.

"Good," the General said, turning and making his way from the room. "First Lieutenant, perhaps you could assist Doctor Rockbell in finding some more suitable clothes and then bring her down to my office in one hour." Samson jumped to attention, saluting Wilson with a nod and the General turned and made his way from the room, leaving Robbins checking Ed's IV levels.

Samson came around to where Winry was still sat in the chair. Her legs had gone numb and Samson, apparently noticing this fact, heaved her up into a standing position as though she weighed nothing.

"Thanks," Winry breathed, seriously.

Samson made to lead Winry from the room, but Winry paused, her eyes still on Ed's prone form.

"Hang on a minute," Winry said taking a trembling step towards Ed's bed. There was a pause for a moment.

"Hey, Doc Robbins? Perhaps I should show you where they keep the coffee machine in this place?" Samson piped up brightly and Robbins, glanced between Winry, Ed and Samson a moment, rolling her eyes.

"I think a coffee would be much needed, First Lieutenant." She sighed, and made her way from the room with Samson.

Winry took another step towards Ed's bed and crouched down next to it, not willing to sit down again for fear that she wouldn't get up.

"I know you can hear me you…you Alchemy Freak!" Winry all but sobbed into his ear. "Don't you dare die! If you do, I will never, ever forgive you!" She kissed his forehead roughly and heaved herself out of the room before she could start bawling.

Samson accompanied her back to her room and pushed her into the shower, stripping her shivering limbs from the ruined party dress, removing the bandage from her head, carefully and telling her to remember to scrub behind her ears, jovially. The water was searingly hot and Winry delighted in the shiver it rose up her tired spine. She washed calmly, methodically; only thinking about the task at hand. She didn't look as Ed's blood washed off of her skin and ran down the drain in swirling rivulets, she refused to let herself think about him, instead thinking about ensuring that each part of her body was clean and scrubbed. After a little while Samson came into the bathroom.

"Winry, we need to hurry up and get you to the General," Samson spoke cheerfully, but Winry could detect the note of worry in her voice. She turned from where she had been standing, staring at the wall idly and turned off the water, stepping from the shower and letting the woman wrap her in a towel, rubbing her arms, vigorously.

She let Samson lead her into the bedroom, the woman chattering softly about what clothes to put Winry into.

"Never really had much fashion sense, me" Samson was saying. "That's why I like the military, never have to pick my own outfits!" She laughed, but pulled Winry out a pair of comfortable pants and a sweatshirt. "Here, put these on," she laid them on the bed, next to Winry and smiled at her. "I promise I won't make you look like a pumpkin!"

Winry dressed, quickly, not quite able to smile at Samson's forced chatter. She was just so tired. When she was dressed Winry was surprised when Samson grabbed her hairbrush, dragging it through her blonde hair, quickly.

"Let's just get you looking a little more presentable, huh?" She asked gently and Winry nodded, allowing the other woman to brush her hair and she felt Samson plait her hair at the base of her neck.

"Where did you learn to do that?" She asked. Samson always wore her hair in tight bun on the back of her head and never gave any hint of knowing the first thing abut hair.

She felt Samson's hands still for a moment before the other woman continued.

"I, uh…" She heard Samson swallow, convulsively. "I used to do it for the Major," she said quickly and Winry felt her chest ache.

"Oh…." Was all she said as she thought about that.

"You…you really love him, don't you?" She asked the other woman as she finished the braid and Samson came around to sit on the bed next to her.

She looked sad and uncomfortable. "Not in the way that you think," she murmured. "He... uh... he saved my life..." Samson trailed off, her eyes a little far away. "When he first came here, I'd just..." the woman swallowed and Winry turned to look at her, worriedly. "I'd just lost my husband. He was sent to the front line and he was killed by a mortar blast." Winry inhaled sharply. "Ed was assigned as my commanding officer and he... he saw that I was on a downward spiral into depression. He was there for me... we talked a lot. He told me about you... about his brother. He opened up to me like he couldn't with anyone else here. And he helped me through what was probably the most difficult time of my life." She inhaled, deeply. "When he was injured in the line of duty he couldn't braid his own hair. It kept getting matted and tangled so he asked me to do it for him until his arm had healed enough for him to do it." Samson smiled. "So...yeah. He's a good friend." The worry in her eyes returned and Winry reached out, grasping the other woman's hand, gripping it gently. Although she meant to comfort Samson, it just made the First Lieutenant look even more upset and she squeezed Winry's hand briefly before pulling the blonde to her feet.

"Come on, let's get you downstairs," she said and Winry allowed herself to be tugged out of the room and back through the ward. She stuck her head around Ed's curtain, noticing that Doctor Robbins had taken her vacant chair and was completing a chart as she gave silent vigil over Edward's prone form. Winry couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips. Ed was still breathing softly but Winry did not allow herself too long to stare at him, instead, squaring her shoulders and following Samson down to the General's office.

They arrived at the general's ready room and Samson quietly informed the aide that they had arrived.

"If you would just take a seat a moment," the aide said politely. "The General is with a visitor and will just be a moment."

The two women sat down, Samson's leg was twitching nervously where she sat and Winry wondered why she was so nervous.

Eventually the aide stood up and motioned for the women to follow him, opening the door to the office and gesturing inside.

Winry stepped into the large office and froze where she stood.

"Al?" She breathed. The youngest Elric brother stood up from where he had been sat, beside the fireplace with the General and made his way towards her. He scooped her up into a huge hug, lifting her feet from the ground and buried his face in her neck.

"Winry," he breathed as she clung to him and she felt tears slide down her cheeks. Damn, but she had missed him so much. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed him, until she held him in her arms. His body was familiar but different at the same time. He looked so much like Ed; had even let his hair grow long, although his was a soft chestnut brown, unlike Ed's natural blonde. His body, once thin and frail – she knew this from the letter she had received from Major Armstrong after The Promised Day – was now tall and lean and he towered over her somewhat, maybe even taller than Ed.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes, through her own brimming depths.

"It is so good to finally see you, Al!" she murmured and he squeezed her arms in return.

"You too," he said with a smile. "Although," he said, his eyes flashing with concern, "I wish it was under better circumstances. How is brother?" He asked her, concerned.

"He's stable," she said, wiping her tears with her sleeve. "It's just going to be a waiting game. He lost a lot of blood." Al nodded and the General cleared his throat.

"Doctor Rockbell, Mr Elric, if you wouldn't mind joining me, I feel there is much to discuss," he gestured to them to sit at the large mahogany table at the other side of the room and they did so, Al holding Winry's hand in his own, tensely. Samson also joined them; sitting on the General's other side.

"Doctor Rockbell, I fear that I owe you an apology," the General started and Winry frowned. "There has been much going on here in 53 that I, and others have not been able to discuss with you." Winry frowned.

"I don't understand," she began and the General sighed.

"Yes, perhaps it would be helpful for me to start at the beginning…" he trailed off, seemingly unsure where to start. "Mr Elric, First Lieutenant Samson, you will correct me if I get any of this wrong?" Samson nodded, glancing at Winry in trepidation and Winry frowned. So they were both in on this; whatever _this_ was.

"After the Promised Day, both Major Elric and his brother here received a number of death threats against their persons, from a group who claiming to be loyal to the former Fuhrer, King Bradley." Winry frowned; this was definitely news to her.

"The threats were enough that we... that is Brigadier General Mustang, Colonel Hawkeye and myself ...encouraged the brothers to split up in areas where they would not be most easily reached by these threats. Alphonse here travelled to Xing to continue his …. Alchehestry research, wasn't it?" Al nodded. "Yes.. and Edward, still being enlisted at that point, was sent here to 53. Both were advised… and this is the part where I feel I may owe you an apology – not to have any contact with friends or family and to sever all ties, in order to ensure the safety of those that they cared about."

Winry looked at Al. That was the reason why she hadn't heard from either of them in those first twelve months. They had left, without a second glance because the military had told them to. She didn't know how to feel about that at the moment and she turned back to the General, willing him to continue.

"I asked both Edward and Alphonse to avoid contact at all costs, until we had cleared up the threats against their persons. Unfortunately that took longer than any of us had anticipated and a while after he arrived here, Edward received some further threats from an unknown source." General Wilson sighed. "Not long later, we noticed some suspicious behavior on the hospital ward. We noticed that there were a large number of fatalities occurring from seemingly minor injuries." Winry's ears pricked up at that. "I tasked Edward with completing the investigation into this and he soon learned that Doctor Jackson was involved. When Elric looked deeper into Jackson's past he found links to the radical group loyal to Fuhrer King Bradley." Winry felt her throat tighten at this revelation. Lukas had wanted Ed dead. "Major Elric was working to try and uncover a link between the deaths on the Ward and the death threats that he and Alphonse had been receiving. He felt that he was beginning to uncover something, and that was when you arrived…" Wilson trailed off and Winry felt her heart constrict, things were starting to fall into place.

"But… why didn't Ed just tell me this when I first arrived?" She asked, confused.

"He wanted to," Samson piped up, guiltily. "But I don't think you realize how much he was under orders," her eyes flicked to the General who nodded, sadly.

"Samson is right," he said. "Major Elric was under strict orders not to relay any information in regards to the case, or the death threats against him."

"So…he was pissed off that I was getting in the way of the investigation?" Winry asked.

"No," Samson said, shaking her head, sadly. "He was worried about you!"

Winry frowned. Ed hadn't exactly acted worried.

Samson continued. "He was terrified of you working up there in the hospital wing with Jackson. He even roughed up his automail just so that he could have an excuse to come up there and check on you." Winry remembered how he had wound up in the ward, his leg port, swollen and infected and she shook her head.

"No, he acted as though he hated me!" She said loudly, none of this was making sense.

"Winry," Al said softly, covering her hand with his own. "Ed was never good at acting rationally around you," he smiled a sad smile. "He always had your best interests at heart, but you remember what he was like before, don't you?"

Winry scowled. Ed had always treated her like a child who couldn't handle the truth; that was the Edward Elric that she remembered, and apparently he hadn't changed.

"The Major nearly bust a gut when you were tasked to come with us up the mountain," Samson nearly whispered. "He was convinced that you were going to get hurt and when you did, he blamed himself." She shivered. "I've never seen him so upset before." Winry felt her eyes open widely. "He didn't trust anyone else with you…that's why he took you down the Mountain himself." She shuddered. "He was convinced that if Jackson knew how much he cared for you, it would make you a target. He thought he was going to have to do something drastic to get you to leave the Fortress and I guess…he did after you two…fell out…" she trailed off, looking like she was going to cry and Winry felt sorry for the other woman, what must she have had to endure these past few months?

"When you mentioned your theory at the Serviceman's Ball, yesterday, it put us in a difficult situation cos Jackson realized that Ed was onto what he was planning. And then he tricked us into separating you and Ed... Ed never would have left you if it hadn't been for the fake message that had been sent through." Samson closed her eyes, seemingly reliving the horror. "By the time Ed actually found me and we realized that there had been no message, you were missing and it was too late. Ed was so terrified that they'd already killed you; he could barely concentrate." She shuddered. "We'd worked out that Jackson was creating Philosopher's stones and Ed had his suspicions, but it wasn't until we saw you there last night that we realized what Jackson was trying to do…" Winry frowned as Samson continued. "He was trying to bring back King Bradley."

Winry pushed back from the table and stood up, walking away from the table on towards the window on shaking legs. She couldn't digest this. Everything that had happened…it was all because of these threats against Ed and Al… She stood at the window, looking out over the courtyard. The snow was thick on the ground.

"Al," she asked suddenly with a frown. "How did you get here so quickly?" She turned back to face the youngest Elric who was looking guilty. "Ed was only shot last night, there's no way you could have gotten here from Xing in that time."

"Winry," he started and she knew.

"You've been here a while, haven't you?" she breathed and he nodded miserably. "Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered. She had never felt so betrayed.

"We weren't allowed to mention it, " he said, standing up and joining her by the window. She balked at his response; again, the same old excuse. He reached out for her, but she danced out of his grasp, too raw to handle his comforting touch.

"Doctor Rockbell," the General said, sadly. "Again, it is I that owe you the apology here. Edward asked me to bring Al here when began to piece together what Jackson was doing and so we brought him here, in the strictest of confidence. Not even Samson here knew." He said, as though this was supposed to comfort Winry.

She turned her back on them, tears burning in her eyes.

"But Ed told you about the threats against him?" She asked Samson, remembering their earlier conversation. Samson's eyes widened and she bit her lip, but she didn't deny it. So Ed had trusted Samson with the truth... She felt bitterness twist in her gut. She had been lied to for the last eighteen months. There was the lie of omission from Ed and Al, when they failed to tell her the danger they were in after the Promised Day. There was the lying that continued from Ed when she had first arrived. Day after day he had lied straight to her face, making her believe that he hated her. Then there was the fact that Al had been right under her nose for the last month or so and they hadn't even told her. These boys, who she had once considered her family, didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth.

For years she had waited for them; waiting for them to tell her what was going on; waited for them to come home. She was done waiting.

She wiped her tears away and turned to face the room.

"I understand." She said calmly and Al looked at her, worriedly. "General, thank you for your hospitality. But I'm done." The man looked at her in confusion. "I quit." She said, and with that she left the room. Someone called her name, but she was too far-gone.

After Granny had died Ed and Al were all that she had had left; the only family she had. But they had betrayed her by lying to her. Winry couldn't help but feel that if someone had just told her what was going on eighteen months ago that the entire situation could have been avoided.

She wandered back towards the hospital ward on numb legs. What would she do now? She thought to herself. After Granny had died, becoming a Doctor had seemed the logical step. But, after less than a year on the job, Winry did not feel that she could continue with this line of work. There were too many painful memories associated with it. Perhaps she could travel, she mused, a little hysterically.

She arrived back on the ward and Doctor Robbins appeared from behind the nurses station, a coffee in hand.

"Ah…Doctor Rockbell-" she froze when she saw Winry's face. "Winry, dear, are you ok?" She asked concernedly. Winry just nodded, not meeting her gaze. Robbins frowned, but stepped back a little. "Well, you'll be pleased to note that Major Elric has taken a turn up for the books." Winry found that she was vaguely pleased about this. She was glad that Ed was going to be ok. "He's awake and conscious if you would like to see him?" Robbins asked, gesturing towards the curtain around bay 3.

"No!" Winry shook her head and Robbins frowned. "No…thank you, that won't be necessary." She couldn't bear to be so close to Ed. If he was alive and conscious then she was happy with that, she didn't want to see him. She brushed past Robbins and quickly headed back to her room, locking the door behind her as the tears fell, unbidden.


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: We're down to the final chapter... oh the angst! Please review. Good or bad, I love to hear your comments!**

 **CHAPTER 13**

It took a depressingly short amount of time for her to pack up her life into her small suitcase. She folded her clothes neatly, leaving the drawers empty and open. She left her doctor's jacket and stethoscope on the back of the door; she would have no need for them now. When she was fully packed she sat on the side of the bed, wrapped in her coat and scarf. She had written her letter of resignation and had it sent down to General Wilson, effective immediately. Then she had retreated back to her room to hide, like the coward she was. There had been a number of visitors but Winry had politely turned them all away. Samson had been the first to appear at her door, as Winry had expected. The woman had become a good friend and she felt a tinge of regret at leaving her; she would miss the First Lieutenant terribly. But she had turned her away, quickly and politely, not giving Samson a chance to protest.

Al had arrived a short time later but she had pretended not to be in and waited until he got fed up of knocking and left. Even Phillips and Bulger had come knocking, news of her resignation apparently spreading through the ranks, quickly.

Winry sighed, and stood up. Trying to prolong the time until she would have to leave her shelter, Winry checked the drawers one last time, running her hand along the base of the drawer, right to back. Her fingers brushed something metal and she frowned. Gripping the small object she pulled it from the drawer and felt her breath leave her in a rush.

It was her small photo frame. The one with the picture of her, Ed and Al, laughing and gallivanting on that hot Summer's day, a lifetime ago. She traced her fingers over the shiny surface of the frame, smiling softly to herself. She remembered wishing that every day could have been like that; so carefree and so happy with her adopted family. She exhaled, placing the frame on the side of the drawer unit. Those days were gone.

She picked up her case and left the room, quickly without looking back, her boots squeaking softly on the shiny floor of the ward. She moved quickly, her eyes downcast and her heart hammering as she passed bay 3. She was relieved to see that the curtain was drawn around the bed and voices could be heard murmuring softly inside. Stepping lightly as she could Winry walked away, leaving the hospital unit with a murmured goodbye to Hannah, as she left. The girl looked like she was going to cry, but Winry was not looking for long drawn out goodbyes.

She made her way through the fortress quickly and easily, her feet carrying her without much effort until she was at the gate to the outside world. She handed in her ID badge to the guard in the little kiosk and signed the required paperwork to clarify that, yes she had left all military property at the base and, no she would not sell military secrets. Finally when complete, she walked through the gate to wait in the snow for the transport truck that would be taking her to the train station. From there she would get the train back to Central until she could sort out what she was going to do with her life.

Winry sat down on the small bench against the large concrete wall while she waited. She found she was oddly impatient and her foot tapped restlessly against the snowy ground. It would be a long wait, they had told her, as the transport was running a little behind schedule due to the weather. Typical.

Twenty minutes later and there was little sign of the transport, but Winry's toes were starting to go a little numb and she considered getting up and going back inside to wait.

"Why are you running away?" A voice called from behind her and Winry froze, her body tense. It was exactly the voice that she had been desperate to hear every day for the last eighteen months but also the last voice that she wanted to hear at this precise moment. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before turning around.

Edward was sat in a wheelchair, a jacket slung across his shoulder and slippers on his feet. Al was pushing the wheelchair and he glanced at Winry, worriedly. She frowned.

"You're such an idiot," she growled at him. "What the hell are you doing out of the hospital?" He shouldn't even have been sitting up, after major abdominal surgery, let alone out and about and she resisted the urge to whack Alphonse in the side of the head for bringing him outside.

"You really think I was going to let you go without saying goodbye?" Ed said softly as Al pushed him closer. They came to a stop just in front of her. "Al, give us a minute," Ed said quietly, not taking his eyes off Winry's.

"I'll just be inside," Al mumbled and backed slowly into the building.

Winry shivered, breaking eye contact with Ed's golden eyes; they were too intense, too painful. She raised her eyes to the night's sky, stars shimmering above her, jovially, as though taunting her.

"Winry…" Ed breathed and she shut her eyes. "Look at me."

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak and he sighed.

"I've messed this up so badly," Ed said sadly and Winry couldn't help but agree. "All I ever wanted was to keep you safe Win…" he trailed off.

"You wanted me safe but you didn't trust me," Winry muttered.

"No, of course I trust you-"

Winry scoffed, feeling herself get angry. "No Ed," she whirled to look at him. "You didn't trust me. You lied to me. For eighteen months! Eighteen months in which you've done nothing but lie!" She wailed the last word, flinging it at him harshly.

He dropped his gaze, his shoulders slumping and sighed.

"Yeah, I guess I did, huh," he looked up at her through his dark bangs and smiled a soft sad smile. "I said to myself, though, that I'd rather have you alive and hating my guts than dead. And I stand by that," he said searching her face.

She turned away, conflicted, as headlights approached. She pushed herself to her feet.

"I don't hate you," she surprised herself. Ed was silent for a minute and she imagined he was digesting this information.

"You- you don't?" He said, startled, after a second.

She turned to look at him with a sad smile and shook her head. "No," she breathed as the truck pulled up in front of them and a small group of soldiers exited, glancing at them curiously as they piled into the fortress.

"You getting in, love?" The driver asked, leaning out of his window.

She turned away from Ed, "Yeah, just give me a second," she called and turned back to face him.

"So, if you don't hate me, why are you running," he asked and she noticed that he had wheeled himself right in front of her, so close that his knees were almost touching hers.

She shook her head. "Ed, I don't hate you. But… I just don't feel _anything_ about you anymore." She watched his face falls the lie spilt from her lips, easily. "I'm sorry," she said truthfully. "I don't want to hurt you, but I've been your fall back for so long and I've built my life around waiting for you. Waiting for you to come home, waiting for you to tell me what was going on and I need to figure out what my life means when I'm not waiting for you."

She took a step towards the transport and Ed looked panicked.

"When can I see you again?" He asked, breathlessly.

"You can't, Ed." She said sadly. "You need to let me go." And she turned her back on him, biting back on her tears and stepped up onto the transport.


	15. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Twelve months later saw Winry working as an automail mechanic in Rush Valley. It had been an easy decision; having nowhere to stay, she had turned up at the door of her old master, Mr Garfiel, not long after leaving Central, asking for a place to stay. Garfiel had been delighted to have her back and wouldn't hear of her mumbled assurances that it would "only be for a few nights" and had quickly made up the guest room for her. After a week or so she had offered to tune up a few customers for him when he had found himself with an unexpected errand to run and it hadn't taken long from there to find herself hooked on the memorable profession. The familiar smell of machine oil and grease reignited her passion for automail and she found the familiar callouses and muscle aches a reassuring acquaintance.

Within a short space of time she had developed such a large customer base that when Garfiel had expressed an interest in retiring, Winry had jumped at the chance to take over the business. Within 6 months she had doubled her profits and had earned enough money to hire an assistant. Paninya had been the first applicant through the door and they'd been bouncing off each other since. The girl was turning into a gifted apprentice and Winry was glad of the company. She had bought herself a larger shop with an apartment over it and had settled into her hectic, yet, gratifying life as a mechanic. She thought that, somewhere, Granny would be smiling, knowingly.

But, despite her happiness with her new life, Winry still felt like something was missing. It was like a little tugging sensation in her chest that pulled at her whenever she had an evening off, or when she found herself with too much time to think. She tried not to look too closely into it, instead throwing herself into her business with full steam.

It was a Sunday afternoon and the shop was closed, but Winry was sat at her workstation, toiling over a knee joint with a custom fitting. The guy wanted solid Gold kneecaps for Pete's sake. Winry couldn't understand the appeal in "blinging" up one's automail, but it would bring a hefty price tag, so she wasn't going to turn away the custom. Winry had given Paninya the day off; there was work to be done, but the younger girl worked so hard that she deserved a little time to herself to enjoy herself and have fun.

The little bell over the door, tinkled but Winry didn't look up, her fingers moving carefully over the oiled cables, connecting strands here and there, delicately. She had become so popular that often customers came in on her days off, just trying to get her to do a rush job.

"The sign says closed," she called, staring at the wire connections of the joint through her magnifying glasses.

A voice coughed behind her and Winry growled, putting her tools down and removing the glasses, slinging them to the bench and standing from her stool with a scowl. She swiveled around, hands on hips and a bad-mannered response on her tongue but she paled when she saw who had wandered into her shop and felt her knees buckle a little. She reached out to steady herself against the workbench as she met his eyes.

Edward Elric stood in the doorway. His hair, she noticed immediately, was no longer dark, but back to it's natural blonde tones and she found that she had missed seeing it like that. It was swept back in a high ponytail, his soft bangs cascading over his forehead and resting against his cheeks. He was wearing casual clothing, jeans and a sweater with an open collared shirt. Winry couldn't remember the last time she had seen him dressed so casually. A brown mac was covering his sweatshirt and Winry wondered, absentmindedly, why he was wearing it. They were in the midst of a drought and although they were anticipating the rains any day now, there was no sign of them in the blue, cloudless sky today.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, cautiously. Her cheeks flamed a little as her voice came out embarrassingly hoarse and she coughed. She hadn't seen him since she'd got on that transport, just over a year ago.

"I wanted to see you," he said quietly and Winry was reminded of a conversation from a long time ago, on her first visit to 53.

"Well, you should have called first," she murmured and was surprised to see Ed's lips quirk up in response; he understood the reference.

"You…look good Win," he said softly.

"Thank you," she felt herself blush and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She was wearing one of her old jump suits, pulled down to the waist and a black tube top covering her chest and she suddenly felt a little exposed.

"You…" he blushed, but persevered, "you look more like…you, like this…"

She nodded, understanding what he was saying. "I feel more like me," she said quietly. "You look more like you, too," she said with a small smile. "You changed your hair back. I really missed that colour."

He flashed her a brilliant smile and she felt something untighten in her chest; that little tugging sensation dissipating a little.

"You seem to be doing really well for yourself, Win," he said and he looked at her proudly. "I was just in town, for an interview and I… thought I'd stop by and see the woman who everyone says is the best automail mechanic is Amestris." Winry flushed. "But," Ed flushed darkly and looked away, "I already knew that years ago." He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "I should go." He smiled at her, faintly. "It was so good to see you Winry." He turned to leave.

"You said you were here for an interview?" Winry blurted. She didn't really understand where it had come from but she didn't want him to leave now that he was here. "Are you not in the military any more?"

He turned back to face her. "No, I left nearly a year ago." A cloud passed across his face and Winry understood. She let out a soft "Oh" and fiddled with her bandana, nervously.

"Sooo, what kind of job are you after?" She asked him, curiously.

"There's a research job going at the library," he said with a smile. "Spent most of my childhood with my nose in a book, so thought it might be something that I'm pretty good at."

There was a comfortable silence and Winry took the opportunity to really look at her childhood friend. He was still leanly muscled and had actually seemed to have filled out even more across the chest. But there were shadows under his eyes and a hint of stubble on his chin.

"You look tired," she blurted out and slapped a hand over her mouth, flushing to the roots of her hair. God what was with her today? She felt like her face was permanently on fire! He looked startled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I guess, hotel beds aren't really that comfy," he muttered, good-naturedly.

Winry frowned.

"You don't-" she paused, shaking her head.

"What?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow.

Winry chewed her lip.

"You could… that is to say, you don't have to stay at a hotel."

"What do you mean?" Ed asked, puzzled and Winry flushed deeply, not meeting his gaze.

"I mean, you could stay here, you idiot!" She huffed at him and watched his eyes widen. "Granny would kill me for not offering you a room when I've got two here spare…" she trailed off, studying her feet.

'I-" she heard him swallow. "I couldn't…"

Winry glanced up at him; he was flushed, but determined.

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it…" she mumbled and he shook his head.

"Thanks, but I'm paid up for tonight at the Inn," he said softly. She nodded in understanding.

There was an awkward pause.

"Tea!" She blurted out suddenly. "You should come for tea this evening. Paninya and Mr Garfiel will be here…" she trailed off.

He hesitated for a moment.

"You-" He seemed to be having trouble getting his words out and Winry was struck by how very Ed he seemed. _God she had missed him_. "You know…. you don't have to …offer, I mean," she frowned at him and he scowled in annoyance. "I know that I hurt you!" He blurted out after a minute, seemingly frustrated at his own inability to string a coherent sentence together.

Her eyes widened at his admission, but he continued, staring at his feet with, his hands clenched. "I hurt you…" he continued, his voice soft. "And you don't have to pretend that things are ok and be nice to me just because..." he trailed off.

Winry picked up her wrench, her jaw tense and scowled at him.

"Edward Elric!" His eyes shot up and his eyes widened as he took in the wrench that she was pointing at him. "I am trying to be nice to you, because I am a nice person! Do you want me to yell at you and kick you out on the street?!" She advanced on him the wrench clutched in her grip.

"No-no!" Ed stumbled back a step hesitantly. "Tea sounds lovely, what time?" He asked quickly and she lowered the wrench with a sigh.

"Five O'Clock."

"Ok," he said with a soft smile.

She smiled, shyly. "Great…"

He turned to leave after a moment, but then paused, turning back to glance at Winry carefully.

"Would you, mind if I brought some friends with me?" he asked her seriously and Winry smiled in consternation.

"Of course."

There was no way that Winry was going to get any work down for the rest of the afternoon. She tried, of course, but she was too distracted to get her hands to do what they needed to do and she ended up burning herself on the soldering iron four times before she called it a day.

She stalked upstairs; rubbing her burned fingers and sat on the edge of her battered old couch, bringing her knees up to her chest. She hated how happy she felt at the mere thought of seeing Ed that evening, after everything that had happened. He was right, she should hate him for what he had put her through. But after seeing him today, Winry found that she couldn't keep lying to herself. She couldn't hate Edward Elric any more than she could hate her own right hand. Even when a distance was put between them, they always gravitated back to each other and Winry found that she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. But she had been burnt, and badly; yet it didn't stop her from wanting to jump straight back into the flames.

She stood up from the couch and strode to the window seat; gazing out across the blue sky that was now dotted with large clouds as she lowered herself into the window. There was no point getting all flustered just because he had shown up on the doorstep. There was no telling how much he had moved on; her heart lurched at the thought. After all, he was bringing some company. Winry had assumed at first that he would be bringing a friend or colleague as he was nervous about being with her on his own; even though Mr Garfiel and Paninya would be here… But doubts were starting to creep into Winry's head. What if he was bringing a girlfriend, or even worse a wife? She scowled at her hands, barely seeing them as she contemplated this. Yes, what if that was really why he was here? To tell her that he had gotten married.

She felt a little sick at the thought, but she wasn't really one to complain; after all she had been the one who had left him. If he hadn't shown up here then who knows how long it would have been before they saw each other.

She got up and busied herself by showering and changing her clothes. She deliberated on what to wear. Should she dress up? Would Ed think she was a little over the top? After trying on virtually every item in her wardrobe Winry settled on a pale blue Summer dress with spaghetti straps. She brushed her hair out and left it loose at her neck. It had grown so long in the last eighteen months that she could nearly sit on it and she resigned herself to getting it cut as soon as possible.

Mr Garfiel and Paninya arrived a little before five, letting themselves in and chattering animatedly about all the local gossip that they were privvy to. Winry listened with half an ear as she set about making tea and setting cups and saucers on the small coffee table in the sitting room.

"Are we expecting more company, dear?" Garfiel asked, noting the surplus of cups.

"Oh, yeah..." Winry murmured. "Edward is coming over with some friends." She didn't miss the look that passed between Paninya and Garfiel, but ignored them and the two quickly continued their conversation, moving on to the talk of the town. Apparently, Mrs Stevens from the corner store was having an affair with Mr Junker from the launderette. Winry let her mind wander, thinking about how much Ed had changed since she last saw him. Sure there were the physical differences... his hair was back to normal and he had filled out a little more. But his personality was much more like the Ed from her childhood. The one who had struggled with his emotions and who argued with her about his automail. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from him since their last visit.

A knock at the door startled her and before she had a chance to get up, Paninya had leapt up, running to the door and throwing it open.

"If it isn't the little bean squirt!" She crowed as Ed stepped into the room with a scowl and Winry felt her stomach flip flop.

"Less of the little, if you don't mind," he grumbled. "I'm taller than you now." She grinned and pulled him into a hug.

His eyes met Winry's across Paninya's shoulder and she felt a spark of electricity go through her, her eyes flicking away. She heard footsteps at the door and she glanced up to see Alphonse step into the room, followed by Mei and Samson.

"Faye?" She stood up hesitantly as the soldier entered the room.

"Hey Doc," Samson rubbed the back of her head, nervously. Winry noted how different she looked in civilian clothing. Her dark hair, usually pulled back so sharply was loose and flowing around her shoulders.

Winry crossed the room and pulled the other woman into a bone-crushing hug.

"Hey!' Samson grit out, although Winry noticed that she hugged her back, just as fiercely. "Kinda crushing my ribs there Doc."

"Can't call me that anymore," said Winry, releasing the other woman, grudgingly. "Not a doctor anymore."

That served to break the mood a little as Samson, Al and Ed's cheerful expressions dipped a little, but Winry brushed over it, turning to her next guest.

"Al…" she breathed, pulling him down for a deep hug and burying her face in his neck. She'd missed him. She pushed him away and looked at him; he had indeed grown and was now a couple of inches taller than Ed. His hair was shorter than last time she had seen him, but it was tied back in a little ponytail at the base of his skull.

"Hey Winry," Al murmured, smiling gently.

She just grinned at him. She had been so furious with him last time she had seen him, but it seemed that time healed many wounds as she found herself drinking in the sight of him, here with her in the flesh. She turned to the other woman.

"And Mei! What has it been, two years?! You've grown so much!" the younger woman smiled kindly at Winry.

"It's so good to see you, Miss Winry," Mei said, griping Winry's hand warmly.

"Well, come in, come in, everyone," Winry said politely, gesturing them into her small sitting room. She had not been expecting quite so many guests and it took them a while to sort out who would sit where. But in the end Paninya, Garfiel and Mei took the couch, while Samson took the armchair while Ed perched on the arm and Al ended up sitting on the floor in front of Mei.

Winry grabbed a chair from the dining room and sat herself down in front of the couch. There was an awkward pause as everyone looked at Winry and she felt herself flush. She had been completely unprepared for the fact that she was going to see any of these people today and now that they were here and staring at her she suddenly realized the awkwardness of the situation. Last time she had seen the brothers she had been running away with her tail between her legs. She hadn't even bothered to say goodbye to Samson and things between her and Ed … well they were still awkward despite their polite truce.

Al coughed, nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"So Winry," he began, obviously uncomfortable, but trying to cover it. "You have a great place here," he said gesturing around and Winry smiled, cajoled by his efforts.

"Thank you," she ducked her head, shyly. "I've been very lucky…"

"Hah!" Garfiel, scoffed loudly. "Luck has nothing to do with it my dear! Winry here has a talent with automail like no other!"

Winry flushed even further at his elaborate declaration and ducked her head, hiding behind her bangs as they fell in front of her face. She felt eyes on her and she fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

"Well, we already knew that," Ed said softly and her eyes flicked to him. He was gazing at her warmly and Winry felt her heart speed up. She looked away, not quite sure if she was ready to entertain _those_ thoughts right at this minute.

"So what have you been up to?" She glanced at the others as they sat there. She couldn't help noticing the way that Mei rested her knees, comfortably, against Al's back. They were obviously together, she noted with a rueful smile. She was glad that someone had found happiness. Her eyes flickered up and she was startled to notice that Ed was staring at her, knowingly, and she looked away quickly.

"Well," Al was saying. "Mei and I have been doing some travelling. We've been all over really!" He chatted away animatedly and Winry listened to their stories about the places that they had visited with a smile. She poured the tea, passing cups around before taking one for herself.

"And what have you been up to Samson?" She asked the soldier.

"Well, I've been promoted." The woman said with a grin and Winry noticed how Ed smirked, but his eyes were pleased.

"That's amazing!" Winry said, with a bright smile.

"Yeah," Samson replied. "Although my life is so much easier without this idiot taking up all of my time and resources fixing his love life!"

Al barked out a laugh and both Ed and Winry flushed, deeply.

"Hey!" Ed growled. "I wasn't that bad!"

Samson scoffed. "The only time that you were not a bother was when you were not on active duty." Ed frowned for a minute before realization seemed to hit him.

"That's because I was in the hospital for 3 weeks!" Ed grumbled.

"Well," joked Samson with mirth in her eyes, "if you hadn't of gotten yourself shot then that wouldn't have happened and you could have continued to be a pain in the ass…"

Winry felt herself pale. She had spent the last twelve months desperately trying not to think about Ed's shooting. The memory of frantically trying to stop him from bleeding out flooded her senses and she could almost smell the acrid stench of blood. She glanced down at her trembling hands, almost expecting to see them stained red and found that her teacup was rattling loudly against the saucer in her hand and she put it down quickly, sitting on her hands, nervously.

She noticed with a jolt that the conversation had stalled a little and she glanced up, noticing that all eyes were on her. She must have looked a treat, as Al was glancing at her worriedly and Mei had sat up in her seat and was leaning towards her with a frown.

"Winry," Garfiel said, confusedly. "Are you quite alright, dear? You're ever so pale!" He frowned at her and Winry tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. It had all happened a long time ago, she tried to reassure herself.

"Y-yeah!" She said, breathily. "Sorry, I uh… I um… just uhh feel a little unwell all of a sudden." She stood up quickly, hiding her shaking hands behind her back. "Excuse me…."

She raced down the stairs and out of the back door into the alleyway behind the shop as quickly as she could. The sky was dark, and there was a rumble of thunder in the distance. Winry shivered. She had had to get out of there; the memories of Ed's shooting were too painful…too raw and she clutched her arms, tightly across her chest. She took a few minutes to breathe deeply, focusing on drawing air into her lungs. In twelve months she hadn't stopped to process the shooting. She hadn't stopped to actually consider just how closely he had come…She heard footsteps behind her and closed her eyes; she should have known that he would follow her.

"Winry," he breathed sadly, standing just behind her. She shuddered but didn't trust her voice, just shaking her head silently and she bit her lip, hard. "It's ok," he soothed. "I'm ok now…" His hands slipped up to her shoulders and she shivered again as the sensation of his warm skin on hers sent an electric tingle down her spine.

She let him turn her, slowly, his hands gentle, but she kept her head tipped down, staring at her shoes. He sighed and his fingers came up to her chin, tipping it up. She eventually met his eyes, unwillingly. He wore an expression of deep sadness and Winry knew his look was mirrored on her own face. The pain in his eyes was evident and Winry suddenly felt incredibly tired.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, her mouth tipping up in the corner in a small, sardonic smile. Ed's hand was still on her jaw and Winry suddenly felt very exposed, standing as close to him as she was. She could feel the heat radiating from his body as lightning flashed in the sky above them and she jumped. She stepped back away from him, trying to get some distance, trying to clear her head, but he held onto her. "Ed," she complained, breathlessly; her will was crumbling. She felt rain begin to fall, lightly; it cooled her feverent skin as it touched her bare shoulders.

"Just, let me…" he said pulling her forwards and his lips brushed hers softly. Winry froze, her eyes round. His lips were soft against hers, just the softest caress of a kiss and then he was pulling back, his eyes searching hers and she was lost. She closed the distance between them and kissed him deeply, her lips fitting to his as his lips parted beneath hers, taking control of the kiss, gently and sliding his tongue into her mouth, making her knees tremble. His hands snaked up her waist and tangled in her hair at the base of her skull, tipping her head back slightly to get a better purchase. Winry ran her hands up his arms, slipping them around his back and pulling him to her tightly, their bodies pressed together from knee to chest. It was raining harder now, the sound of it hitting the ground around them, growing in intensity.

Ed's lips left her mouth and trailed little kisses along her wet jaw; feather light touches that left her gasping for breath. He kissed her behind her ear, drawing a shudder from her and she felt his mouth curve into a smile against her skin.

"Don't," she whispered and he drew back from her, quickly a frown on his face. The rain was plastering his flaxen hair to his forehead but they both ignored it. Her eyes searched his, pain and confusion and lust all melding together into one big disorganized mess of feelings. "Don't offer me this if you don't mean it." She said, her voice wavering. "I-I've had to put myself back together so many times, Ed. Sometimes I think that all that's holding me together is cello tape and glue." He was looking at her with agony in his eyes, but she continued, raising her voice as the rain pounded down around them. "If you really want this…me… then I'm yours. Just don't offer me anything you can't give," her voice broke and she couldn't bring herself to maintain eye contact with him; afraid of the response she might get. She bit her lip and looked away. There was the longest pause as the rain continued to batter down on them and Winry took a deep breath, preparing herself for his dismissal. But then a finger tipped her chin up and amethyst met amber eyes. She flushed, embarrassed by the intensity she saw there.

"I love you Winry," he said. "And I'm done being stupid," she breathed in sharply. "All I want is to make you happy…if you'll let me?" The rain was plastering her hair to her head and Winry shivered. Could she allow herself to believe? Could she trust again?

"I love you so much, Ed," she breathed and tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, mingling with the rainwater that trickled down her skin. "I've loved you my whole life."

She thought for a moment he was going to cry. His eyes became misty and pained and then he crushed his lips to hers. There was a renewed urgency in his kisses and their tongues tangled together in a frenzied dance as they were caught in the deluge. Winry was soaked to the bone but she barely noticed, too enraptured in Ed's kisses. He kissed her with emotion; all of his pain, remorse and heartache pouring through the kiss, leaving her weak at the knees and dizzy.

When he finally pulled away she was breathing heavily and he rested his damp forehead against hers as they stood in the driving rain; two figures tangled together, completely wound up in each other.

He finally seemed to acknowledge the rain, grudgingly, and he shrugged his jacket off, putting it around Winry's bare shoulders, wrapping it around her and kissing the end of her nose, gently. Then he tugged on her hands and led her back to the apartment. The building was eerily quiet after the roar of the rain outside and she stifled a giggle at the puddles they were leaving on the stairs. She let Ed lead her back into the lounge and she was surprised to see that they were alone.

"The others wanted to give you a bit of space," Ed murmured softly pulling her to him. His eyes were gleaming. She allowed herself to be led to him, this man that she loved, deeply and who loved her. She felt her heart soar. He was soaked through, his shirt stuck to his skin, showing the rigid outline of his muscles and Winry felt desire coil in her gut. Her eyes flicked from his body to his eyes and she saw the same desire, echoed there in his amber depths.

Ed pushed his hands to her shoulders, slipping them under the material of his jacket and pushing it to the floor where it fell with a wet thump. Winry shivered, her damp skin beginning to cool in the dry air of the apartment. Her dress was also soaked and stuck to her torso like a second skin. She took Ed's hand, her eyes never leaving his and drew him through the lounge and down the corridor towards her bedroom.

She stopped as her back hit the door, but Ed kept moving, a possessive expression on his beautiful face. He pressed her up against the door with a thump and slid his hands down her wet sides, and catching at the back of her knees, lifted her as though she weighed nothing. She wrapped her legs around him as he pressed her into the door, his lips melding to hers in a deep and scorching kiss. She moaned into his mouth, her hands tangled in his wet hair as his hand fumbled behind her for the doorknob, pushing the door open and carrying her inside, his lips not leaving hers.

Winry awoke the next morning with a smile on her face and she stretched her naked body, reveling in the pop of aching muscles as her spine extended. Last night had been... well it had been amazing. Ed had burned away the memories of their first fumbled and rushed time, with his touch. He'd washed away the pain and bitterness that she'd been holding onto for so long with his kisses. She'd come undone in his arms over and over and slowly, he'd put her back together, gently and reverently. She felt treasured, worshipped even. And she couldn't stop smiling. She buried her face into the pillow with a satisfied groan and reached out with her arms to feel cool sheets next to her.

Her eyes opened in an instant and she inhaled, lifting her head from the pillow, her heart beating heavily. Taking in the sight of the empty bed next to her Winry felt her stomach plummet and she clenched her fists, flipping over onto her back and hugging the sheets to her chest. The pillow beside her was cool to touch and Winry wondered whether Ed had simply waited for her to fall asleep before taking off. She felt the tears spill over. Damn… she had let her guard down and let him in again. She swiped angrily at the tears that ran down her temples and onto the pillow beside her. She was so stupid; she couldn't believe that she had let him to do this to her again.

She allowed herself a few minutes to indulge herself in self-pity before she heaved herself out of bed, slipped her robe on with a heavy heart and made her way to the bathroom. She had customers to see; there was no option but to get dressed and get on with the day, as much as she wanted to curl in on herself and lick her wounds.

She finished up in the bathroom, avoiding her reflection like the plague and padded towards the kitchen, seeking coffee. She pushed the kitchen door open and stepped inside, her mouth dropping open as she took in the sight before her.

Ed was standing with his back to her, naked from the waist up, his hair tied back loosely in a low ponytail that hung down to his lower back. His pants were hanging deliciously low on his hips and he was barefoot. He had a frying pan on the stove and was watching it, his hands on his hips, as though unsure what to do with it.

Winry couldn't help the sob that broke free from her lips at the sight and she leaned against the doorframe, weakly. Ed spun to face her, a frown on his face.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, his face quickly taking in the sight of her tears and he started towards her, a worried expression on his face. "What's wrong?" he breathed, grasping her lightly by the upper arms before running a hand across her forehead, brushing the hair from her face.

Winry smiled a brilliant smile through her tears, hiccupping softly. "You didn't leave me…" she said with a grin. Ed frowned and searched her face, questioningly. "I woke up and you were gone…" she explained, running her hands up his arms and into his hair. His eyes grew round in realization at her words and he frowned in deeply.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I just wanted to make you breakfast," he gestured behind him with his eyes.

"It's ok," Winry said, and it was; he was still here and he loved her.

He wiped her tears away with his thumbs. The cool metal of his automail was cold against her cheek.

"Come here," he said and led her into the kitchen, pushing her gently into a chair as he bustled around the kitchen collecting items here and there. He dropped a glass in front of her and filled it with orange juice from the fridge before kissing the top of her head and returning the juice to it's home. She watched him move, still feeling tearful, but also stupid for her outburst. She tucked her legs up underneath her as Ed worked.

Her eyes drifted to his bare stomach as he moved. The scar from Layla's bullet was visible against his muscular abs and she shivered, remembering that night. She was so lucky, she realized. The man in front of her was gorgeous and he wanted her.

"I'm the lucky one," Ed murmured, glancing over his shoulder and she realized with a jolt that she'd said that out loud. Ed stalked over to her and crouched in front of her chair, resting his hands on her knees, a serious expression on his face. "Winry…" she met his eyes as they scorched into her own and she had the feeling that Ed was looking into her very soul. "You. Are. Beautiful." She flushed and her gaze wavered, but he moved so that he stayed in her eye line. "You. Are. Perfect."

"Ed…" she mumbled, embarrassed.

"Winry, I need you to understand this because I've damaged you…you can deny it as much as you want, but I have. And it's down to me to try and undo some of the damage that I've done." He swallowed convulsively. "What happened at 53 last year… it made you think that something was wrong with you. That somehow you weren't enough for me…" He trailed off and Winry had the feeling that he was reading her mind, reading the very deepest, darkest part of her soul.

"It's not true." He gripped her knees tightly. "You were the only thing on my mind for the last two and a half years, Win. You kept me sane. And having you there with everything that was going on- I freaked out. And I handled it really badly and I ended up hurting you so badly that you're still feeling it…" She was mesmerized by his words.

"I had a long time to think while I was in the hospital. Al and Samson made me realize quite few things as well," he murmured sardonically. "But… well," he swallowed again, nervously. "I want to make amends for what happened and I want you to be able to trust me again."

He reached into a pocket and withdrew a small leather box and Winry felt suddenly very dizzy.

"I…kind of asked you this once before," Ed murmured, his face flushed. "But…well. It wasn't really the kind of proposal that you deserved. So… here goes…"

He opened the box revealing a beautiful gold engagement ring with a tiny diamond in the center. Winry gasped, it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.

"Winry Rockbell…" he gazed into her eyes, seriously. "Will you be my family?" She felt tears roll down her cheeks. "Marry me," he whispered. She could only nod, vigorously as she let out a huge sob, throwing her arms around his neck and knocking him backwards on the kitchen floor.

She kissed him then and it probably wasn't the best kiss either of them had experienced, but it was laced with everything that had been left unsaid between them for so long, finally exposed. They lay together on the kitchen floor, entwined in each other, exploring each other and Winry found the last little tension in her chest release as she rested her head against Ed's bare chest, listening to his heartbeat.

Sometimes, Winry though to herself, there was a happy ending; and she found herself believing that maybe this could be hers. Sometimes, though, you just had to endure the sting in the tail before you found it. But, she mused, running her fingers lazily up and down Ed's taut stomach and feeling his muscle clench with desire, it made it all the more precious when you found it.

 **Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading A Sting in the Tail. I really hope you enjoyed it. I'd really appreciate your feedback on which bits you particularly enjoyed or which bits you feel perhaps didn't make sense or could be adjusted? Truth be told I found writing the epilogue really very difficult. As you might be able to tell the angst comes really easily and the happy fluffy stuff, not so much. I apologise if it's a bit sickeningly sweet at the end ...**

 **I'm considering writing an accompanying piece to this with From Ed's POV. I thought it might be really interesting to get some of his thoughts during the duration of the story. Let me know if this is something that you'd like to read.**

 **Thanks again for reading. Please head over and have a look at Dependence if you can. It's another fix that I'm writing, an AU and sees Winry working for Ed as his PA, whilst Ed is a wealthy singer whose life is spiralling out of control. When he does something terrible Winry has a choice to make. Stick with him and see him through, or run for the hills. It's ultimately EdWin, but is pretty angsty in the run up.**


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